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LIBRARY 


University  of  California. 


i 


Class 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


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CHARACTER    FORMING 
IN  SCHOOL 


BY 


F.     H.     ELLIS 

M 

WARLEY     ROAD     SCHOOL,     HALIFAX 


Thou  must  be  true  thyself, 

If  thou  the  truth  wouldst  teach 

Thy  soul  must  overflow,  if  thou 
Another  soul  would  reach. 

It  needs  the  overflow  of  heart 
To  give  the  lips  full  speech. 


LONGMANS,    GREEN,    AND    CO. 

39  PATERNOSTER  ROW,  LONDON 

NEW  YORK,  BOMBAY,  AND  CALCUTTA 

1907 

All  rights  reset-ved 


mi. 


m: 


PREFACE 

We  shall  be  what  you  Will  make  us. 

Make  us  wise  and  make  us  good  ; 
Make  us  strong-  for  time  of  trial, 
Teach  us  temperance,  self-denial^ 

Patience,  kindness,  fortitude. 

I  I  ^  VERY  book  on  education  asserts  that  character 
^1  V  building  is  the  chief  function  of  the  teacher.  The 
more  recent  the  book,  the  more  emphatic  the  assertion  ; 
and  every  thoughtfjiLteacher  endorses  the^stat^ment.  Of 
course,  no'w  that  it  is  an  accepted  axiom,  the  wise  can  say 
that  Plato  definitely  taught  it,  that  Pestalozzi  and  Froebel 
had  that  ideal  constantly  in  view,  and  that  Herbart  in- 
sisted that  all  instruction  which  does  not  develop  character 
is  useless. 

The  following  pages  have  been  compiled  to  show  how 
the  theory  has  become  practice  in  a  large  elementary 
school,  the  ages  of  the  children  ranging  from  three  to 
fourteen  years  of  age. 

The  lessons  are  printed,  just  as  they  were  prepared  and 
given  by  the  teacher.  The  weekly  "  schemes  "  are  copied 
from  the  teachers'  notebooks,  and  the  compositions  are 
those  done  by  the  children  during  the  week  they  have 
been  studying  and  practising  the  particular  Thought  they 
have  written  upon. 

In  no  instance  has  the  wording  of  the  children's  essays 
been  altered,  but  errors  in  spelling  and  grammar  have 
been  corrected.     The  essays  are  only  printed  to  show  that 


162821 


vi  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

the  children  have  assimilated  the  teachings  given  and  ha.ve 
'*  ideas  of  self-discipline,  which  follow,  when  they  have 
thoroughly  grasped  the  moral  instruction  given.  "^ 

In  the  infants'  school,  a  thought  for  one  month  only  is 
taken.  The  teaching  there  is  of  a  very  concrete  character, 
and  very  positive — preparatory  for  the  teaching  to  be  given 
in  the  upper  school. 

A  scheme  of  work  is  printed  for  the  infants'  school  to 
show  how  the  ethical  idea  permeates  all  the  work. 

My  sincere  thanks  are  due  to  the  staff  of  my  school  for 
assisting  in  the  compilation  of  this  little  book,  and  in 
loyally  carrying  out  the  ideas  embodied  in  it. 

Grateful  acknowledgments  are  also  due  to  the  follow- 
ing authors  and  publishers  for  permission  to  use  their 
poems  and  songs  : — 

The  Songs  and  Music  of  Frederick  Froebel's  Mother 
Play.  Prepared  and  arranged  by  Susan  E.  Blow.  Pub- 
lisher :  Edward  Arnold,  37  Bedford  Street,  Strand, 
London. 

Songs  for  Little  Children.  Composed  and  arranged  by 
Eleanor  Smith.     Published  by  J.  Curwen  and  Sons. 

Chimes  for  Children.  By  B.  and  R.  W.  Hawkins. 
Published  by  W.  and  R.  Chambers. 

The  Lotus  Song  Book.  Katherine  Thigley,  Raja  Yoga 
School,  Point  Loma,  California. 

Songs  of  Happy  Life.    Published  by  Geo.  Bell  and  Sons. 

Music  for  the  Kindergarten.  By  Eleanor  Heerwart. 
Boosey  and  Co. 

Golden  Boat  Action  Song.  By  L.  Ormiston  Chant. 
Published  by  J.  Curwen  and  Sons. 

Peeps  at  Playtime.     Published  by  Chas.  Dibble. 

All  the  Year  Round.     Strong.     Ginn  and  Co. 

^  Dr.  Sophie  Bryant. 


CONTENTS 


INFANTS'   SCHOOL 


Correlation  for  Four  Months 


Introduction      .  .  .  ... 

■January  \ 
February | 
March  [ 
>  April        / 

One  Week's  Work— Central  Thought  :  Love 
One  Month's  Correlation       „  „  .        . 

One  Week's  Work  „  Obedience     . 

One  Month's  Correlation       „  „ 

One  Week's  Work  „  Unselfishness 

One  Month's  Correlation       „  „ 

One  Week's  Work  ,,  Courage 

One  Month's  Correlation       „  „ 

One  Week's  Work  „  Self-Control 

One  Month's  Correlation       „  „ 

One  Week's  Work  „  Harmony 

One  Month's  Correlation       „  „ 

One  Week's  Work  „  Joy 

One  Month's  Correlation       „  „ 

Story — Earth  Stars 
Game— Story  Dramatized 
Music  for  Game 
Nature  Talk— " February's  Helpers" 


13 

21 

23 
27 
29 
33 
36 
45 
48 
51 
53 
59 
62 

65 
67 
71 
75 
79 
87 


vHi         CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Story— "The  Little  Snow  Fairies" 

Game — Story  Dramatized 

Music  for  Game  .  .  .  . 

Reference  Books  .  .  .  . 


PAGE 

94 
97 


GIRLS'   SCHOOL 


Table  of  Weekl 

Y  Thoug 

HTS 

105 

Suggestions  to  Head  Teachers  . 

1 10 

Resolutions 

113 

Self-  Reverence 

115 

Self-Knowledge 

116 

Self-Control 

118 

Harmony 

Trkv 

120 

JOY 

Ideals    . 

121 
122 

Loyalty 

124 

Altruism 

125 

Self-Reliance 

126 

Temperance 

127 

Drudgery 

128 

Gentleness 

130 

Thankfulness 

131 

Obedience 

132 

Goodwill 

133 

Perseverance 

134 

Truthfulness 

135 

Co-operation 

136 

Standard  VI— Teacher's 

Weekly 

Scheme 

OF  Lesson? 

(Co-operation) 

. 

142 

Standard  IV           „           „           „         (Co 

■operation)    146 

Standard  II 

« 

«           » 

?» 

149 

CONTENTS  ix 

PAGE 

Lesson  on  Domestic  Economy      .              .           .  .  153 

History           .              .               .           .  .  157 

Grammar         .               .               .           .  .  161 

Fertilization               .              .           .  .  163 

Drill               .               .               .           .  .  169 

Geography      .               ,              .           .  .  173 

Children's  Compositions  on  Co-operation          .  -175 

Teachers'  Weekly  Scheme  of  Lessons  (Temperance)  189 

Children's  Compositions  on  Temperance            .  .  192 

Teachers'  Weekly  Scheme  of  Lessons  (Harmony)  .  199 

Children's  Compositions  on  Harmony      .           .  .  202 

List  of  Poems  suitable  for  Ethical  Teaching  .  207 

Short  Notes  on  some  of  the  Character  Studies  .  211 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


Mural  Painting  of  St.  George  in  Classroom 

The  FA9ADE-  of  the  Temple    . 

Class  having  Talk  on  St.  George 

Story — Ceres  and  Proserpina 

Story— RiKKi-TiKKi,  from  "The  Jungle  Book" 

Warrior  Song,  with  Mural  Painting  of  St.  George 

Wall  of  Classroom  . 

Game— Earth  Stars    . 

Plan  of  Game 

Calendar  for  February 

Story — *'The  Little  Snow  F 

Balance  Movements  to  teach  Self-Control 

Mural  Painting  in  Classroom 

The  School  Motto  over  Arch 

Result  of  Nature  Lesson 

Co-operation  through  Drill 

Entrance  to  Hall  of  School 

Familiar  Quotations. 


PAGE 

5 

lO 

20 
38 
40 

44 
56 
74 
78 
86 

93 

lOI 

112 

137 
167 
171 
185 
213 


■oBI 


UNIVERSITY 


CHARACTER   FORMING 
IN  SCHOOL 


^  INTRODUCTION 

4      "A  man's  character  and  conduct  will  always  be  according-  to  his 
t.„education. " — Plato. 

"  We  had  better  seek  for  a  system,  which  will  develop  honest  men. 
Let  us  reform  our  schools." — RusKiN. 

Carlyle  says  to  the  teacher  : — 

"The  latest  g-ospel  in  this  world  is  Know  thy  work  and  do  it: 
know  what  thou  can'st  work  at  and  work  at  it,  like  a  Hercules. 

"  Consider  how,  even  in  the  meanest  sorts  of  Labour,  the  whole  Soul 
of  a  man  is  compressed  into  a  kind  of  real  harmony,  the  instant  he 
sets  himself  to  work." 

EVERY  week  the  work  of  the  upper  school  is  based 
on  what  we  have  learned  to  call  a  "Thought."  It 
also  forms  the  connecting  link  between  all  the  lessons, 
besides  having  for  its  real  object  the  inculcating  of  morals. 
The  object  of  taking  a  Thought  or  Ideal  of  conduct  is  to 
train  the  child  to  think  about  character.  The  ideal  has 
been  given,  and  throughout  the  week,  and  whenever 
possible  in  every  lesson,  the  Thought  is  reiterated,  until 
the  desire  to  be  as  the  Ideal  has  become  a  habit.  "  As  a 
man  thinketh,  so  is  he."  The  child  thinks  about  the 
Ideal,  desires  it  and  then  expresses  the  thought  in  con- 
duct. Plato  says  that  **  imitations,  if  from  earliest  youth 
they  be  continued  onwards  for  a  long  time,  are  estab- 
lished   into    the    manners    and    natural    temper,    whether 

B 


2  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

they  be  gestures,  or  tones  of  the  voice,  or  modes  of  think- 
ing." Again,  Ruskin,  in  one  of  his  lectures  on  Art,  says  : 
*'  Men  are  to  be  educated  in  wholesome  habit.'" 

Some  of  these  Thoughts  are  Self-Control,  Honour, 
Courage,  Temperance,  etc.  Definite  lessons  on  the  ab- 
stract Thought  are  never  given.  The  Thought  is  brought 
in  where  possible  in  every  lesson.  The  literature  lesson, 
as  a  rule,  is  entirely  devoted  to  illustrating  the  Thought ; 
and  the  reading  lesson,  essay  writing,  naturally  will  bear 
upon  it.  In  subjects  such  as  geography,  history,  arith- 
metic, it  may  or  may  not  be  possible  to  touch  upon  the 
Thought,  but  it  depends  very  largely  upon  the  teacher. 
If  a  teacher  is  really  anxious  to  enforce  a  moral  truth,  the 
difficulty  is  not  how  to  introduce  it  into  the  lessons,  but 
how  to  make  it  a  part  of  every  lesson,  without  interfering 
unduly  with  the  subject  in  hand,  and  how  to  instil  the 
moral  idea  in  the  child's  mind  so  that  it  stimulates  his 
mind  to  action — sets  it  working  and  makes  it  the  parent 
of  kindred  ideas.  In  the  Upton  Letters^  Benson  says  : 
**  One  can't  possibly  extirpate  weaknesses  by  trying  to 
crush  them  ;  one  must  build  up  vitahty,  and  interest,  and 
capacity." 

It  is  not  always  the  class  that  can  answer  the  best, 
or  the  child  who  writes  the  best  composition  on  the 
Thought,  who  are  putting  it  most  into  practice.  It  will 
be  seen  that  week  by  week  the  children's  ideas  grow  with 
the  regular  succession  of  Thoughts  which  are  brought 
into  relation  with  each  other. 

Head  teachers  must  arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  their  staff 
if  they  want  moral  instruction  given  thoroughly.  It  can 
be  taught  from  the  head  and  sound  well,  but  as  a  practi- 
cal thing  it  will  be  useless.  As  I  will  show,  in  the  work- 
ing out  of  the  scheme,  the  head  teacher  gives  out  the 
"Thought,"  the  keynote  of  the  ethical  instruction,  and 
orally  or  by  writing  points  out  the  fundamentals  to  be 
noted  week  by  week. 


INTRODUCTION  3 

This  should  not  be  done  without  preparation  :  the  head 
teacher  should  be  quite  sure  of  the  ground  to  be  covered 
before  issuing  the  outline  of  the  scheme  to  the  staff  of  the 
school. 

Whatever  we  name  the  ethical  teaching  given,  whether 
self-reverence,  purity,  temperance,  or  honour,  we  find  that 
the  basis  of  all  is  ^*  self-control."  The  children  soon 
realize  that  the  hardest  and  most  important  thing  to  con- 
trol is  the  mind — their  thoughts.  Frequent  practice  is 
given  in  controlling  eyes,  hands,  and  other  parts  of  the 
body,  and  the  teacher  knows  when  they  are  under  control ; 
but  the  children  alone  know  when  they  have  control  over 
their  thoughts.  The  ''Thought"  taken  for  the  week  or 
for  the  time  specified,  is  the  one  that  must  control  all  the 
others.  It  was  this  reason  that  suggested  the  word 
"  Thought  "  for  the  ethical  instruction. 

Realizing  that  self-control  is  the  basis  of  all  ethical  In- 
struction, the  teaching  is  begun  as  soon  as  the  children 
enter  the  infants'  school.  By  means  of  pictures,  stories, 
games,  and  songs,  and  by  using  concrete  forms  for  the 
abstract  ideas  embodied,  it  will  be  found  possible  to  im- 
plant the  germ  of  the  truth  in  the  infantile  mind,  for  as 
Plato  said,  "The  beginning  of  every  work  is  of  the 
greatest  importance,  especially  to  any  one  young  and 
tender,  for  then  truly,  in  the  easiest  manner,  is  formed 
and  taken  on  the  impression  which  one  inclines  to  imprint 
on  every  individual  .  .  .  and  whatever  opinions  he  re- 
ceives at  such  an  age  are  with  difficulty  washed  away,  and 
are  generally  indelible." 

In  every  classroom  in  the  infants'  school  there  is  a 
picture  of  "St.  George  and  the  Dragon" — a  large  mural 
painting.  The  little  ones  are  taught  that  St.  George  was 
a  brave  warrior  who  killed  the  dragon,  because  it  was 
greedy  and  selfish.  They  must  be  warriors  like  St.  George 
and  kill  any  dragons  that  keep  them  from  being  brave  and 
good.     The    names    of  some    of  these  dragons   are    bad 


4     CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

temper,  disobedience,  greediness,  sulkiness,  and  laziness. 
Teachers  will  show  them  how  to  kill  these  dragons. 

The  greedy  dragon  is  killed  by  helping  and  sharing. 

The  bad  temper  dragon  is  killed  by  smiling. 

The  disobedient  dragon  is  killed  by  doing  as  they  are 
told. 

The  lazy  dragon  is  killed  by  doing  some  work  right  away ; 
and  so  on. 

This  is  a  daily  lesson,  or,  I  should  say,  a  continuous 
lesson.  It  becomes  part  and  parcel  of  the  children's  life, 
and  forms  a  solid  basis  upon  which  we  can  work  when 
they  are  drafted  into  the  upper  school.  There  they  are 
taught  that  their  faults  belong  to  their  lower  nature, 
which  it  is  their  duty  to  conquer. 

The  aim  of  the  ethical  training  is  to  make  the  children 
realize  that  they  possess  two  natures,  a  carnal  and  a 
spiritual  one,  and  that  they  have  the  power  within  them- 
selves to  make  the  spiritual  or  Higher  Self  dominate  the 
carnal  or  lower  self.  Carlyle  has  said,  "  We  must  not 
forget  the  clothing  of  the  idea,  for  the  idea  itself."  And 
teachers  must  not  forget  the  end  in  view  when  giving 
moral  instruction,  for  "character  is  not  a  series  of  moral 
lacks  or  moral  possessions,  but  an  expression  of  inner 
being." 


The  body  grows  silently,  slowly,  and  harmoniously, 
like  Solomon's  temple,  every  thought,  word,  and  action 
having  some  effect  upon  its  growth.  Great  care  must  be 
taken  to  keep  it  pure  and  holy. 

The  Voice  from  within  will  help  all  those  who  listen  to 
it  to  distinguish  right  from  wrong  ;  they  will  have  what 
Solomon  asked  for:  ''an  understanding  heart  to  discern 
good  from  bad." 

Solomon   shows   evidence    of  this   wisdom  by    making 


INTRODUCTION  7 

preparations  for  the  building  of  the  temple  for  which  his 
father  David  had  collected  materials. 

No  effort  was  too  great,  no  material  too  costly,  to  make 
the  temple  beautiful  and  perfect.  We  also  are  to  aim  at 
perfection,  for  the  command  has  been  given,  '*Be  ye 
perfect." 

The  pillars  oiour  temple  are  composed  of  the ' '  Thoughts  " 
we  have  been  taking  and  practising. 

Emerson  says  :  '*  A  man  is  the  fa(^ade  of  the  temple 
wherein  all  wisdom  and  all  good  abide.  What  we  com- 
monly call  man,  the  eating,  drinking,  planting,  counting 
man,  does  not,  as  we  know  him,  represent  himself,  but 
rather  misrepresents  himself.  Him  we  do  not  respect,  but 
the  soul  whose  organ  he  is,  would  he  let  it  appear  through 
his  actions,  would  make  our  knees  bend." 

FLORENCE    HOWARD    ELLIS. 


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This  should  be  copied  on  a  large  sheet  for  class  purposes. 


THE  ''THOUGHT" 
IN    THE   KINDERGARTEN 

*'  Imitations,  if  from  earliest  youth  they  be  continued  onwards  for 
a  long-  time,  are  established  into  the  manners  and  natural  temper, 
whether  they  be  gestures,  or  tones  of  the  voice,  or  modes  of  thinking." 

Plato. 

"O  Lord,  send  unto  us  and  teach  us  what  we  shall  do  unto  the 
child." — Judges  xiii.  8. 


CORRELATION  OF  WORK  FOR 
FOUR  MONTHS 

*'  A  robin  redbreast  in  a  cage, 
Puts  all  heaven  in  a  rage. 
A  dove-house  filled  with  doves  and  pigeons, 
Shudders  hell  through  all  its  regions. 
A  dog,  starved  at  his  master's  gate, 
Predicts  the  ruin  of  the  state. 
He  who  shall  hurt  the  little  wren 
Shall  never  be  beloved  by  men." — Blake. 


THE  ''THOUGHT"  IN  THE  KINDERGARTEN    13 


< 

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Q 

Love  in  the  home— 
i.  For  parents. 

ii.  For  brothers  and 
sisters. 

Love  in  school — 

i.  For  teachers. 

ii.  For  school-fellows. 

iii.  For  all  living  crea- 
tures(B.  of  Mercy 
Pledge). 

Love  of  Mother  Nature 
for  her  children- 
sends  rain  and  sun 
to  help  trees  and 
flowers  to  grow. 

i 
§ 

Games. 
Stories  dramatized. 

"The  tree  was  cold." 
Songs  dramatized. 

Drawing. 

House,     hats,      fence, 
gate,  buds,  turnip. 

Folding  and  Tearing 
and  Cutting. 

Towel,  tablecloth,  mat, 
fence,  gate,  carrot. 

Modelling  in  Clay. 

Cottage    loaf,    turnip, 
chestnut     twig    and 
buds. 

Organized  Gaines. 

1.  Number  game  played 

like  stations. 

2.  "All  around  the  vil- 

lage." 

3.  Play  with  the  doll's 

house:  bed-making. 

1 

.J 

Stories. 

1.  Philemon     and 

Baucis. 

2.  Pope    Gregory   and 

the  Angles. 

3.  Hiawatha's    Wrest- 

ling. 

Recitations. 

1.  Bird  Thoughts. 

2.  Hiawatha's  Wrest- 

ling. 
Tall  and   beautiful   he 

stood  there, 
In  his  garments  green 

and  yellow  ; 
To  and  fro  his  plumes 

above  him. 
Waved     and     nodded 

with  his  breathing. 
And  the  sweat  of  the 

encounter. 
Stood  like  drops  of  dew 

upon  him. 

Songs. 

1.  The  happy  family. 

2.  The  tree  was  cold. 

3.  Warriors  of  the  gold- 

en cord. 

4.  Busy  workers. 

■g 

1.  The  building  of  the 

temple. 

2.  Christ    blessing  the 

children. 

3.  Story  of  Moses. 

Hymns. 

I.    Band    of    Mercy 
Hymn. 

1.  In   our  dear  Lord's 

garden 
Planted  here  below. 
Many  tiny  flowerets 
In      sweet      beauty 

grow. 

2.  Nothing  is  too  little 
For  His  gentle  care. 
Nothing  is  too  lowly 
In  His  love  to  share. 

3.  Jesus  calls  the  chil- 

dren. 
Children  such  as  we. 
Blessed   them  when 

their  mothers 
Brought  them  to  His 

knee. 

2 

0 

I.  "Little  children  love 
one  another." 

2.*"  He    prayeth    best 

who  loveth  best 
All  things  both  great 

and  small. 
For    the   dear   God 

who  loveth  us. 
He  made  and  loveth 

all." 

3.iOn  streets,  in  homes, 

and  schools. 
Be     loving,    gentle, 

brave, 
Be  to  yourselves  and 

others  true. 
From  wrong   God's 

creatures  save. 
Be  courteous,   kind 

to  all ; 
Keep  on  life's  bright, 

true  side, 
Spreadhonour,truth, 

and     kindness 

round. 
In   peace  and    love 

abide. 

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LOVE 

"There  is  the  intense  instinct  of  love,  which^  rig-htly  disciplined, 
maintains  all  the  sanctities  of  life,  and,  misdirected,  undermines 
them." — RusKiN. 


LOVE  21 


One  Week's  Work. 


CENTRAL   THOUGHT : 

liove. 

Mottoes.    "Little  children,  love  one  another." 

"  On  streets,  in  homes  and  schools, 
Be  loving,  gentle,  brave." 

"  He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best." 

Daily  Talks,  {a)  EthicaL  Explain  that  the  first  pillar 
in  our  temple  is  called  love,  and  it  is  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  all  the  pillars. 

Refer  to  "  Loving  Verse  "  and  show  that  by  loving 
even  the  smallest  creatures,  our  love  for  each  other 
will  grow  stronger. 

Repeat  ''Band  of  Mercy"  pledge  daily  and  en- 
courage children  to  look  for  opportunities  of  showing 
their  love,  '*  On  streets,  in  homes,  and  schools." 

If  we  try  to  make  this  pillar  of  love  strong,  we 
shall  be  able  to  build  other  pillars,  and  so  make  our 
temple  a  fitting  place  for  the  '*  Still  Small  Voice"  to 
dwell  in. 

Scripture.  Story  of  Moses.  Great  love  of  the  mother 
for  her  child  is  shown  when,  at  great  risk  to  herself, 
she  hid  him  three  months.  Again,  in  her  anxiety 
that  no  harm  should  come  to  her  child,  she  set 
Miriam  to  watch  the  cradle  in  the  rushes. 

Hymns.  ''  In  our  dear  Lord's  garden." 

*'  He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best." 

This  hymn  teaches  that  the  smallest  of  God's 
creatures  is  worthy  of  our  love.  The  Band  of  Mercy 
pledge  explains  this  hymn  and  encourages  children  to 
love  all  animals.  "  I  promise  to  be  kind  to  all  living 
creatures." 


22  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Daily  Talks,     {h)  Nature,     Family  Life. 

I.   Our  home. 

•> 

Hoiise^  of  what  built — stone,  brick,  wood  ;  work  of 
mason,  joiner,  plumber. 

Furniture^  tables,  chairs,  sofa. 
People. 

i.   Father,  mother,  children — work  of  each. 

ii.   Food — bread,  meat — source  of  chief  articles  of 
food. 

iii.   Clothes — woollen,  cotton,  leather. 

/Wool  from  sheep. 

-  Cotton  from  plant. 

Leather  from  cow. 


Literature. 


Songs  and  Games. 


Story. 
Philemon         and 
Baucis  (Myths). 

The  story  teaches 
a  lesson  in  hos- 
pitality which 
should  spring 
from  love  in  the 
home. 

Recitation. 
Mother  and  child. 


Mother  and  child. 
Thefamily(Blow). 
Happy     brothers 
and  sisters 
(Blow). 

Games. 

1.  Story    drama- 

tized. 

2.  The  trades. 

Haifa  dozen  chil- 
dren will  repre- 
sent a  trade,  e  g. 
joiner,  and  will 
show  how  they 
do  their  work 
by  simple  move- 
ments. A  song 
or  recitation 
will  be  taken 
between  each 
trade. 


Occupations. 


Pictures. 


Tearing,  Foldiftg.  Moses  in  the  bul- 


aiid  Cutting. 

Towels,  table- 
cloth, mat, 
chair. 

Drawing. 

House,  simple 
positions  of  hat, 
cup,  tumbler. 

Alodelling. 

Cottage  loaf, 

building  house, 
tables,  etc. 

Gift  III. 

Fire-lighting. 
Bed-making. 
Setting  table. 


and 


rushes 
Madonna 

child. 
Child  Samuel. 
Madame  le  Brun 


LOVE 


23 


£ 

<u 

3 

c3 

U 

2.  Madonna          and 

child. 

3.  Madame  le  Brun. 

4.  Beauty    and     the 

Bt-ast. 
(MacWhirter.) 

Mtiral  Paintings. 

Twigs  of  beech,  oak, 
and      horse-chest- 
nut showing  winter 
buds. 

0. 

i 
0 

i 

House,     hats,      fence, 
gate,  buds,  turnip. 

2.  Folding,      Teari7ig, 

and  Cutting. 

Towel,  tablecloth,  mat, 
fence,  gate,  carrot. 

3.  Modelling  in  Clay. 

Cottage    loaf,    turnip, 
chestnut     twig     and 
bud. 

4.  Play  with  the  doll's 

house. 

5.  Nursing  and   dress- 

ing dolly. 

6.  Bed-making. 

1 
1 

1       ^ 

1 

1.  The  happy  family. 

2.  The  tree  was  cold. 

3.  Warriors      of      the 

golden  cord. 

4.  Busy  workers. 

Games. 

Stories  dramatized. 
Songs  dramatized. 
("The  tree  was  cold.") 

Organized  Games. 

1.  Number            game 

played  like  "Sta- 
tions." 

2.  "All  around  the  vil- 

lage." 

2 

a 

■i 

Co 

1.  Philemonand  Baucis. 

2.  Pope   Gregory   and 
the  Angles. 

3.  Hiawatha's    Wrest- 

ling. 

Recitations. 

1.  Bird  Thoughts. 

2.  Hiawatha's    Wrest- 

ling. 

"Tall 

him." 

Six  lines  to  be  taught. 
Dress  up  child  with 
head-gear  of  plumes 
and  green  and  yellow 
garment. 

1 

^2 

2.  Buds     and     winter 

shoots. 

3.  Nature's            Fore- 

thought. 

4.  Nature's  Provisions 

for    cold    weather 
(observations  to  be 
made     during     a 
walk). 

Motto    for     Monthly 
Calendar  or  Nature 
Record. 

"January    brings    the 

snow. 
Makes    our    feet    and 

fingers  glow." 

1, 

> 

s 

Motto. 

1.  Little  children  love 

one  another. 

2.  Loving  verse. 

3.  Band     of     Mercy 

Hymn. 

Scripture   and 
Hymns. 

1.  Thebuildingofthe 

temple. 

2.  Christ  blessing  the 

children. 

3.  Story  of  Moses. 

Hymns. 

I.  "In  our  dear  Lord's 
garden." 

OBEDIENCE 

"It  is  g^ood  for  a  man  that  he  *  wear  the  yoke  in  his  youth  '  ;  for  the 
reins  may  then  be  of  silken  thread  ;  and  with  sweet  chime  of  silver 
bells  at  the  bridle." — RuSKiN. 


tf 


'%>iiii-  i. 


OBEDIENCE  27 

One  Week's  Work. 

CENTRAL   THOUGHT: 

Obedience. 

Motto.  "  I  promise  to  be  kind  to  all  living  creatures,  and 
will  try  to  make  others  the  same." 

Daily  Talks,  {a)  Ethical.  This  month  we  are  taking 
another  pillar  in  our  temple — Obedience.  As  we 
are  trying  to  make  our  bodies  (or,  as  we  are  going 
to  call  them,  our  temples)  fit  for  the  "Still  Small 
Voice  "  to  live  in,  we  must  learn  to  obey  that  Voice. 
It  will  teach  us  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong.  We  shall  often  have  a  dragon  called  "dis- 
obedience" to  fight,  but  if  we  listen  to  this  "Voice" 
it  will  help  us  to  kill  this  dragon,  as  St.  George  did. 

Tell  story  of  George  Washington,  and  show  how 
he  obeyed  his  father's  command  although  in  doing 
so  he  suffered. 

Show  then  how  nature  obeys  the  "Still  Small 
Voice."  The  sun  does  not  forget  to  rise  and  set, 
the  rain  does  not  forget  to  fall  or  the  plants  to  grow. 
The  seasons  come  round  each  year,  thus  obeying  the 
same  Voice. 

Scripture.     Story  of  Samuel. 
Samuel  was — 

(i)  Obedient   to    Eli — in    his  daily   work  in    the 

temple. 
(2)  Obedient  to  God — he  carried  out  God's  com- 
mand in  giving  His  message  to  Eli. 

Hymns.     "  Hushed  was  the  evening  hymn." 

The  hymn  shows  how  Samuel  was  both  loving  and 
obedient. 

'*  Like  him  to  answer  at  Thy  call, 

[i.e.  Still  Small  Voice 
And  to  obey  Thee  first  of  all." 

Daily  Talks,     {h)  Nature.     Order  in  Nature. 

Whole  appearance  of  nature  orderly — result  of 
obedience  to  laws. 

Day  and  night  occur  in  regular  order.  Teach 
points  of  compass. 


28 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


The  seasons  follow  same  order. 
Spring — time  of  growing-. 
Summer — continuation  of  growth. 
Autumn — ingathering  of  fruits. 
Winter— snow  and  frost :  their  work. 
Gathering  and  observation  of  twigs. 
Note. — Arrangement  of  buds  on  stem. 
Arrangement  of  scales  on  buds. 
Kinds  of  buds  and  scales  on  oak,  elm,  ash  beech 
trees. 

Draw  attention  to  the  neatness  of  nature's  work, 
with  the  result  that  there  is  no  waste. 


Literature. 


Songs  and  Games. 


Occupations. 


Story. 

Earth  Stars. 

The  story  tells  of  many 
tiny  stars,  which  dis- 
obeyed their  mother 
the  moon,  and  were 
punished  by  being 
sent  to  the  earth, 
where  they  grew  as 
dandelions,  or  "earth 
stars." 

Recitation. 

**A  million  Uttle  dia- 
monds." 

The  raindrops,  like  the 
sunbeams,  do  their 
work  in  obedience  to 
the  voice  of  Nature. 


O  look  at  the  moon  ! 
"Last   week   she  was 

small  and  shaped  like 

a  bow. 
But   now  she's  grown 

big  and  round  as  an 

The  Sunbeams. 
In  obedience  to  Nature's 
command  the  sun- 
beams come  to  the 
earth  to  make  the 
flowers  grow,  and 
help  us  to  be  bright 
and  happy. 

Game. 

Story  dramatized. 

The  song  will  be  sung 
during  the  game,  and 
at  the  end  of  the 
game  a  child  will 
recite  "A  million 
little  diamonds,"  be- 
cause the  raindrops 
also  helped  to  make 
the  "earth  stars" 
beautiful. 


Tearing,  Foldings  and 
Cutting. 

Moon  shapes, 


star. 


Drawing. 

Moon  shapes,  stars, 
dandelion  leaf. 

Modelling. 
Moon  shapes. 

ODD 

Children  will  make 
simplesketch  illustra- 
ting story.  A  fence, 
gate,  moon,  and  stars 
being  introduced. 
The  former  drawing 
copies  will  thus  be 
revised,  and  the 
story  impressed  more 
strongly  than  by 
simple  repetition. 


OBEDIENCE 


29 


(A 

Mural  Paintings. 

Robin. 

Thrush. 

Swallow. 

Sparrow. 

Chaffinch. 

1 

0" 

Drawing. 

Moon      shapes,      star, 
snowdrop,     sparrow, 
basket,windmill,kite, 
weather-vane,     um- 
brella. 

Paper  Tearing,  Fold- 
ing, and  Cutting. 

Moon      shapes,      star, 
windmill,      weather- 
vane,  umbrella. 

Modelling  in  Clay. 

Bird's  nest  and  eggs. 

Basket. 

Bird  cage. 

en 

i 

Cll 

1 

M 

bo 

g 

Songs. 

1.  0  look  at  the  moon ! 

2.  The  sunbeams. 

3.  Pretty    little    snow- 
flakes. 

4.  Welcome.little robin. 

5.  Windmill. 
Weather-vane. 
The  wind. 

Games. 
Snowflakes. 
Birds  of   Killingworth 
dramatized. 

Organized  Games. 

Jolly  miller. 
Flying  kites. 
Top-spinning. 
Shuttlecock  and  battle- 
dore. 

hi 

1 

Stories. 

1.  Earth  Stars. 

2.  Snow  Fairies. 

3.  Birds     of     Killing- 

worth. 

4.  Bag  of  Winds. 

Recitations 

1.  "  I  saw  you  toss." 

2.  A  million  little  dia- 

monds. 

3.  "He    prayeth    well 

who  loveth  well." 

Reading. 
Selections    from    Hia- 
watha. 
A  child's  wishes. 
The  windmill. 

1 

i 

1.  Order  in  Nature. 

2.  February's  Helpers. 

3.  Birds  we  know. 

4.  Wind  and  its  work. 

Motto    for     Monthly 
Calendar  or  Nature 
Records — 

"  February  brings  the 

rain. 
Thaws  the  frozen  pond 

again." 

i 

s 
0 

OBEDIENCE. 

Mottoes. 

1.  "  I    promise    to    be 

kind  to  all  living 
creatures." 

2.  "  Children, obeyyour 

parents." 

Scripture. 

1.  Vision  of  Solomon. 

2.  Jftstis  as  a  boy. 

3.  Story  of  Samuel. 

HyMJis. 

1.  •'  Hushed    was    the 

evening  hymn." 

2.  "We   are  wise   be- 

cause we  know. 
Gladness  makes  the 

great  worlds  go 
On  theirdutiesgladly 

done. 
By      their       swing 

around  the  sun." 

c.ti 


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OP  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


UNSELFISHNESS  (HELPING  AND  SHARING) 

"  God  is  so  good.     He  wears  a  fold 
Of  heaven  and  earth  across  His  face, 
Like  secrets  kept,  for  love,  untold. 

"  But  still  I  feel  that  His  embrace 

Slides  down  by  thrills  through  all  things  made, 
Through  sight  and  sound  of  every  place." 

E.  B.  Browning. 


I 


UNSELFISHNESS  (HELPING  AND  SHARING)     33 

One  Week's  Work. 

CENTRAL    THOUGHT: 

Unselfishness  (Helping  and  Sharing). 

Motto.    **  Stand  by  the  weak  and  small." 

Band  of  Mercy  Hymn, 

**  Do  the  work  that's  nearest, 
Though  it's  dull  at  whiles, 
Helping  when  you  see  them 
Lame  dogs  over  stiles." 

**  Would  you  know  what  foes  we  seek  ? 


**  Selfishness  and  wrong  they're  called, 
And  we  love  them  never. 
Fight  them  boldly  every  day, 
Till  they're  gone  for  ever." 

Warrior  Song. 

Daily  Talks,  {a)  Ethical.  Our  new  thought  is  unselfish- 
ness, or  helping  and  sharing.  St.  George  was  both 
brave  and  unselfish,  and  he  helped  the  people  by 
killing  the  dragon,  which  was  selfish  and  greedy. 
We  have  a  dragon  called  selfishness,  which  can  only 
be  killed  by  helping  and  sharing.  We  must  try 
again  and  again  to  become  its  master,  and  then  we 
shall  be  warriors  like  St.  George. 

Tell  the  two  stories  of  Florence  Nightingale. 

(i)  As   a  child  she  helped   a   poor  dog  with   a 

broken  leg. 
(2)  As  a  woman  she  went  to  nurse  the  wounded 

soldiers  at  the  war. 

Also  the  story  of  the  Birds  of  Killingworth,  how 
they  helped  the  farmers,  but  it  was  not  until  they 
were  all  killed  that  the  farmers  realized  how  much 
the  birds  had  done  for  them. 


34  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Scripture.  Feeding  the  Five  Thousand.  The  boy  to 
whom  the  loaves  and  fishes  belonged  gave  up  his 
meal  to  Jesus,  who  shared  it  amongst  the  crowd  of 
hungry  people  who  had  come  to  hear  Him  teach. 

Hymns.      '*  God  bless  our  parting  band  we  pray."     This 
hymn  teaches  us  that  if  we  keep  our  pledge  each  day, 
we  shall  be  kind  and  helpful  to  all  creatures. 
'*  Both  dumb  and  human,  great  and  small." 

Daily  Talks,     ifi)  Nature.     Cradles  of  the  Birds.     Need 
and  use  of  cradle  for  (i)  baby, 
(2)  birds. 
Birds'  cradles  differ  as  ours  do  ;  compare  sparrow, 
rook. 

Compare  shape,  size,  materials  of  baby's  cradle 
and  bird's  nest. 

Common  nests  found  in  neighbourhood  —  robin, 
sparrow,  rook,  thrush. 

Note  care  taken  in  making  nests.  Parent  birds 
do  all  they  can  to  make  the  nest  cosy,  helping  each 
other  in  every  possible  way. 

Note  how  unselfish  are  parent  birds,  feeding  and 
sharing  food  with  young  ones. 

All  the  rooks  help  to  make  nest.  Even  dogs  can 
help  and  share  with  us — help  of  sheepdog  to  farmer. 

Walks  will  be  taken  in  connection  with  this  lesson 
to  districts  near  school  where  bird's  nests  may  be 
seen,  e.g.  Stock  Lane  for  rookery. 


UNSELFISHNESS  (HELPING  AND  SHARING)     35 


Literature. 


Songs  and  Games. 


Occupations. 


Story, 

Birds  of  Killingworth 
(Longfellow). 

Tells  the  story  of  great 
use  of  birds  to  us 
in  killing  grubs,  etc. 
Also  when  freed  from 
cages  the  birds  at 
once  flew  to  the 
woods  and  began  to 
build  their  nests. 

Recitation. 
Bird  Thoughts  (Blow). 

Read  in  Connection 
With  the  thought, 
Longfellow's  "  Santa 
Filomena";  thestory 
of  Florence  Nightin- 
gale— the  Lady  with 
the  Lamp. 


Birdies   in    the   green- 
wood (Heerwart). 
Bird's  nest  (Blow). 

Game. 
Story  dramatized. 

Tallest  children  repre- 
sent trees,  smaller 
children  work  in 
pairs,  choosing  the 
name  of  the  bird 
they  wish  to  be. 

During  building  of 
nests  "  the  trees  "  will 
sing.  The  "birds" 
will  also  be  asked  to 
say  how  their  nest  is 
made,  where  built, 
and  what  food  they 
like  best. 


Tearing,  Folding,  and 
Cutting, 

Bird,  nest  and  eggs. 

Drawing. 
Bird,  tree,  eggs. 

Modelling, 
Nest  and  eggs. 

Bed-making. 

The  lesson  to  be  con- 
versational, forming 
throughout  a  com- 
parison between 
home-life  and  bird's 
life. 


36 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


1 

The  Return  of  Perse- 
phone(Lord  Leigh- 
ton). 

Pictures  of  Hiawatha 
(Perry  Pictures). 

Mural  Paintings. 

1.  Rikki  Tikki  Tavi. 
Story      from      the 
Jungle  Book. 

2.  Home  of  the  Har- 

vest Mouse. 

3.  Homes      of      the 

Thrush  and  the 
Swallow. 

a, 

o 

Drawing. 
St.  Patrick's  flag,  sham- 
rock,     bird,      eggs, 
basket,  snail,  bee. 

Folding,  Tearing,  and 
Cutting. 

St.  Patrick's  flag,  sham- 
rock    leaf,     basket, 
bird's  nest,  wigwam. 

Modelling. 

Bird's  nest  (rook),  plant 
pot,  snail. 

i 

§ 
o 

Songs. 

1.  Birdies  in  the  Green- 

wood or  The  Bird's 

Nest. 

2.  Spring  Flowers. 

3.  Rain  Shower. 

4.  March  Winds. 

Games. 
Dramatize— 
Ceres     and     Proser- 
pina. 
Spring  Flowers.' 
Birdies  in  the  Green- 
wood. 
Birds     of      Killing, 
worth. 

Organized  Games. 

I.  In      and     out     the 
window. 

2.  Orangesand  lemons. 

3.  How  d'ye  do,  my  fair 

maid? 

1 

Stories. 

1.  Rikki  Tikki  or  Hia. 

watha'sChildhood. 

2.  Birds     of     Killing- 

worth. 

3.  Up  town  and  down 

town. 

4.  Ceres    and    Proser- 

pina. 

5.  Story  of  St.  Patrick. 

Recitations. 

1.  Bird  Thoughts. 

2.  Hiawatha. 

"Of  all  the  birds  he 
learned  their  lan- 
guage. 

Learned  their  names 
and  all  their  secrets. 

How  they  built  their 
nests  in  summer. 

How  they  hid  them- 
selves in  winter. 

Talked  with  them 
whene'er  he  met 
them. 

Called  them  '  Hia- 
watha's chickens.'" 

3.  The  wonderful  world. 

i 
1 

1.  Cradles     of     the 

Birds. 

2.  Catkins. 

3.  Growing  Things. 

4.  Spring's    Messen- 

gers. 

Motto  for   Monthly 
Calendar  or   Na- 
turc  Records. 

"  March  brings 
breezes  loud  and 
shrill. 

Stirs  the  dancing 
daff-odil." 

i 

UNSELFISHNESS. 
(Helping and  Sharing.) 

Mottoes. 

r.  BandofMercySong. 

2nd  verse. 

2.  "  Do  the  work  that's 

nearest,"  etc. 

(C.  Kingsley.) 

3.  Warriors      of      the 

Golden  Cord.  2nd 
verse. 

Scripture. 

Christ's     Wonderful 
Works. 

1.  The  feeding   of  the 

five  thousand. 

2.  The  healing  of  the 

lame  man, 

3.  Miriam's     help     in 

watching  Moses. 

Hymns. 

1.  God  bless  our  parting 

band. 

2.  Vesper.    Wearily  at 

daylight's  close. 

/ 


Cercb  and  Pposerpma. 
"*^^>X^    Kino  Pluto 

Of 

califqb} 


COURAGE 

''No  student  can  continue  long  in  a  healthy  religious  state,  unless 
his  heart  is  kept  tender  by  mingling  with  children."— Dr.  Arnold. 


LET  US     LIVE    WITH   OUR     CHILDREN. 


COURAGE  45 

One  Week's  Work. 

CENTRAL   THOUGHT: 

Courage. 

Mottoes.    *'  On  streets,  in  homes  and  schools, 
Be  loving,  gentle,  brave. 
Be  to  yourselves  and  others  true, 
From  wrong  God's  creatures  save." 

Band  of  Mercy  Hymn, 

*'  Selfishness  and  wrong  they're  called  ; 
Fight  them  boldly  every  day. 
Till  they're  gone  for  ever." 

Warrior  Song. 

Daily  Talks,  {a)  Ethical.  The  pillar  we  are  building 
this  month  is  a  very  strong  one.  We  cannot  build  it 
well  until  we  have  learnt  the  lesson  St.  George  taught 
us — that  of  being  brave. 

If  we  are  to  be  true  warriors  like  him  we  must  have 
armour,  for  without  it  we  cannot  fight  and  kill  our 
dragons. 

This  armour  is  courage  ;  and  if  we  buckle  it  on 
tightly  we  need  not  fear  the  dragons  of  selfishness, 
laziness,  bad  temper,  and  disobedience,  which  are 
always  trying  to  make  us  follow  them. 

Tell  story  of  Grace  Darling  as  an  illustration  of 
physical  courage.  Courage  is  needed  to  do  right,  to 
"stand  by  the  weak  and  small,"  and  to  do  all  the 
work  given  to  us — well.  If  we  do  not  gain  this 
courage  at  first,  we  must  *'try,  try,  again"  until  we 
make  our  armour  bright,  shining,  and  strong  like 
St.  George's. 

Scripture.  David  and  Goliath.  David  had  the  courage  to 
fight  the  giant,  of  whom  all  King  Saul's  soldiers  were 
afraid.  David  knew  that  he  had  right  on  his  side, 
and  so  although  only  a  boy  he  went  fearlessly  out  to 
conquer  the  enemy.  Goliath  was  the  selfish  dragon 
which  David  had  to  kill. 


46  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Hymns.  ''Warriors  of  the  Golden  Cord."  The  lesson 
taught  is  that  our  dragons  of  selfishness,  bad  temper, 
etc.,  need  fighting  every  day,  and  that  only  by  being 
brave  and  strong  can  we  hope  to  kill  them. 

Daily  Talks,  ib)  Nature.  The  Daffodil.  (Nature's 
warrior  flower.) 

Story  of  a  daffodil's  life  from  the  bulb.  (Children 
supply  facts  from  own  observations.) 

Special  attention  given  to  sword  -  like  leaves ; 
straight,  strong  stalk,  trumpet-shaped  flower,  which 
give  us  the  name  **  warrior  flower." 

Compare  and  contrast  with  crocus,  tulip,  etc.,  e.g. 

(i)  All  grow  from  bulbs. 

(2)  All  have  parallel  veins  in  leaves. 

Note  the  wealth  of  spring  flowers  ;  the  beauty  of 
colouring.  "Like  jewels  in  the  wonderful  new  dress 
of  spring." 

The  flowers  teach  us  a  lesson  in  courage,  for  many 
of  them  come  to  us  in  the  cold  weather  of  early 
spring,  braving  the  rain  and  wind,  in  order  to  make 
the  earth  bright  and  beautiful. 


I 


COURAGE 


47 


Literature. 


Songs  and  Games. 


Occupations. 


Pictures. 


Story. 

Story  of  Hyacin- 
thus  (Myths). 

Recitations. 

"  Dear  flowers,  so 
full  of  hope  and 
cheer." 

Heigh  ho!  daisies 
and  buttercups 
(J.  Ingelow). 

Read 

"The  Daffodils" 

(Wordsworth). 

"Use  of  Flowers" 
(M.  Howitt). 

"Heigh  ho!" 
(Jean  Ingelow). 


Daffy  -down-  dilly 
(E.  Smith). 

The  Spring 
Flowers  (Heer- 
wart). 

Game. 

Songs  dramatized. 

Children  form  a 
circle  to  repre- 
sent a  garden. 
Each  child 
chooses  the 
flower  it  likes 
best.  Sun- 
beams, rain- 
drops, and  Mr. 
Wind  visit  the 
flowers.  The 
songs  about 
sunbeams,  etc., 
to  be  sung 
duringthegame. 


Tearing,  Folding, 
a7id  Cutting. 

Daffodil  leaves, 
bud,  and  flower. 

Drawing. 
Daffodil      leaves, 
bud,  and  flower. 

Modelling. 
Bulb,     leaf,     and 
bud  of  daffodil. 

The  children 
planted  bulbs 
in  the  autumn 
and  have  taken 
care  of  them,  at 
the  same  time 
noting  their 
growth.  In  this 
way  the  warrior 
flower  becomes 
part  of  the 
school -life  of 
the  children. 


St.  George  and 
the  Dragon 
(painted  on  wall 
of  every  class- 
room). 

Into    Thy    hands 
(Briton  Riviere). 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


i 
1 

Mural  Paintings. 

1.  Bird  pictures. 

2.  Development  of  a 

frog. 

3.  Germination. 

4.  Sowing. 

5.  Spring  flowers— 

i.  Daffodil. 
ii.  Tulips, 
iii.  Crocus. 

i 
s 

1 

n 

Paper  Tearing,  Fold- 
ing and  Cutting. 

Daffodil,   crocus,  bud, 
leaves,  flowers. 

Tadpole  and  frog,  bird- 
folding.boatandoars. 

Dra7ving. 

Daffodil,    crocus,    tad- 
pole, frog,  bird,  boat 
and  oars. 

Modelling. 

1.  Bud    and    bulb    of 

daffodil. 

2.  Frog's  eggs  and  tad- 

poles. 

3.  Peas  in  pod. 

4.  Boat. 

■ 

Songs. 

1.  The  Caterpillar. 

2.  Daffy-down-dilly. 

3.  Happy     little    sun- 

beams. 

4.  Spring  flowers. 

Gatnes. 

Stories  and  Songs  dra- 
matized. 

Organized  Games. 

1.  Shall  we  show  you 

how  the  farmer? 

2.  Blowing  game  with 

paper  frogs  cut  out 
by  children. 

3.  Guessing        games, 

with  and  without 
music. 

t 

2 
iJ 
ij 

Stories. 

1.  Birds     of     Killing- 

worth. 

2.  Five  peas  in  a  pod. 

3.  Latona. 

4.  Hyacinthus. 

5.  Story  of  St.  George. 

6.  Grace  Darling. 

Recitations. 

1.  Daffodi!s(quotations 
from  Wordsworth). 

2.  Heigh    ho!    daisies 

and  buttercups. 

3.  Hiawatha— 

*'  Till  at  length  a  small 
green  feather 

From  the  earth  shot 
slowly  upward, 

Then  another  and  an- 
other. 

And  before  the  summer 
ended. 

Stood  the  maize  in  all 
its  beauty, 

With  its  shining  robes 
about  it. 

And  its  long,  soft,  yel- 
low tresses. 

And  in  rapture  Hia- 
watha 

Cried  aloud,  'It  is 
Mondamin, 

Yes,  the  friend  of  man, 
Mondamin  !'" 

Reading. 

Use    of     flowers     (M. 

Howitt). 
Laughing  Chorus. 

1 

55 

1.  Farmers'     friends 

and  enemies. 

2.  Germination. 

3.  Frog's  eggs. 

4.  Warrior    flower — 

daffodil. 

Motto  for  Monthly 
Calendar  or   Na- 
ture  Records. 

"  April  brings  the 
violet  sweet, 

Scatters  daisiesround 
our  feet." 

! 

COURAGE. 

Mottoes. 

I.  "Fight    them    (i.e. 
dragons)      boldly 
every  day 
Till  they're  gone  for 
ever." 

2.  "  Be  loving,  gentle, 

brave." 

3.  Dare  to  be  a  Daniel, 
Dare  to  stand  alone. 
Dare  to  have  a  pur- 
pose firm. 

And   dare   to   make 
it  known." 

i.e.   strength  to  speak 
up  for  the  right. 

Scripture. 

1.  David,  Goliath. 

2.  Nehemiah  building 

the  city  walls  of 
Jerusalem. 
2.  Daniel  in  the  lions' 
den. 

Hymns. 
I .  Lucy  Larcom'sHymn. 

c 
(« 

to 

a 

P 

SELF-CONTROL 

**  Holding-  the  g-overnment  of  himself,  adorning-  himself,  and 
becoming-  his  own  friend,  and  attuning-  those  three  principles,  in  the 
most  natural  manner,  as  three  musical  string-s,  base,  tenor,  and 
treble."— Plato. 


SELF-CONTROL  51 

October.  One  Week's  Work. 

CENTRAL.   THOUGHT: 

Self-ControL 

Motto.  "He  that  hath  no  rule  over  his  own  spirit,  is 
like  a  city  that  is  broken  down  and  without  walls." 

Daily  Talks,  (a)  Ethical.  This  month  our  thought  is 
the  name  of  one  of  the  big  stones  which  bind  our 
pillars  together.  Unless  our  pillars  have  been  well 
built,  the  new  stone  will  be  useless.  The  name  of 
this  new  stone  is  self-control,  which  means  making  all 
the  parts  of  our  body  do  as  we  tell  them.  Each 
part  is  a  servant  with  a  work  to  do,  and  we  must 
make  these  servants  obedient.  Until  they  are  obedient 
we  cannot  be  warriors  like  St.  George.  We  must 
teach  them  to  listen  to,  and  obey  the  *' Still  Small 
Voice,"  which  tells  us  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong.  Many  dragons  of  selfishness,  disobedience, 
and  bad  temper,  will  try  to  make  the  parts  of  our 
bodies  obey  them,  but  we  must  fight  these  dragons 
"  boldly  every  day  till  they're  gone  for  ever." 

Scripture.  Story  of  Nehemiah.  Although  he  often  had 
cause  to  be  angry  with  those  who  destroyed  his  work, 
Nehemiah  kept  back  the  hasty  words,  which  showed 
that  he  had  learnt  self-control. 

Hymns,     (i)  "We  are  only  Httle  children." 

The  smallest  child  can  try  to  make  its 
hands,  feet,  eyes,  tongue  obedient,  i.e.  to 
control  them. 

(2)  "  Teach  me,  my  God  and  King." 

Daily  Talks,     {b)  Nature  Seed  Tramps. 

Refer  to  lesson  on  fruits  and  the  coats  made  to 
protect  seeds,  e.g.  apple,  beech,  etc. 

Parent  plant  provides  seeds   with  best  means  of 
being  scattered. 


52 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Ways  adopted  by  various   plants,   and  how  they 
are  helped  by  other  nature  children, 
(i)  Plants  helped  by  the  wind. 

Trees — sycamore,  ash,  elm,  pine. 

Dandelion — with  its  parachute  of  hairs. 

Poppy — needs  strong  wind  to  shake  seeds  out 
of  case. 
(2)  Plants  helped  by  animals  (chiefly  birds). 

Hedgerow  fruits— \iv^s  and  haws,  blackberries. 

Bushes — holly,  elderberry,  mistletoe. 

Show  how  every  plant  has  its  own  servants, 
root,  stem,  leaves,  etc.,  under  control — each 
part  doing  its  work  well,  that  is,  for  the  good 
of  the  plant. 


Literature. 


Songs  and  Games. 


Occupations. 


Pictures. 


Story. 

Psyche's  Task. 

We  cannot  gain  self- 
controlallatonce, 
but  like  Psyche, 
must  learn  to  be 
patient.  If  we  try 
again  and  again, 
we  shall  teach  all 
the  parts  of  our 
body  to  be  obedi- 
ent. 

Recitation. 

Dragons'  battle. 

The  fairies  and  the 
dragons  had  a 
battle,  and  at  first 
the  dragons  won, 
but  the  fairies  tried 
again  and  again 
and  at  last  de- 
feated the  dra- 
gons. 


1.  "These  are  the 

seasons. " 

2.  Busy  workers. 
This    song   teaches 

that  all  Mother 
Nature's  children 
have  a  special 
work  to  do,  and 
that  each  part  of 
an  animal's  body 
must  do  its  share 
of  this  work. 

Game. 

Dramatize  story. 

Psyche,  Cupid,  and 
Venus  to  be  re- 
presented, the 
children  repeat- 
ing in  own  words 
the  part  they  take 
in  the  story.  The 
rest  of  the  chil- 
dren will  repre- 
sent the  busy  ants 
helping  Psyche  in 
her  task. 


Tearing^  Foldings 
and  Cutting. 

Fruits — 

Hips  and  haws, 
sycamore  seeds, 
poppy-head. 

Drawing. 

Hips  and  haws, 
sycamore  and 
pine  seeds, 

poppy  -  head, 
chestnut  burr. 

Modelling. 
Chestnut  burr. 


Pictureofpop- 
pies  (School). 


Teacher's 
drawings  to 
ill  ustrate 
stories. 


SELF-CONTROL 


53 


<0 

3 

Mural  Paintings. 

1.  Sprays  of  beech, 

oak,   and   horse- 
chestnut. 

2.  Fruits. 

3.  Psyche's  Task. 

f 

Tearing,  Folding,  and 

Cutting. 
Oak    leaf   and    acorn, 

chestnut     leaf     and 

burr,  beech  leaf  and 

mast. 
Fruits— plum,    cherry, 

apple,  pear. 

Dra7uing. 

Oak,  chestnut,   beech, 
leaves  and  fruit. 

Fruits— plum,    cherry, 
apple,  pear. 

Carrot,  turnip. 

Mouse,  snail. 

Modelling. 

3 

i 

8'3 

cd 
O 

c 

at 

OT 

Songs. 

1.  The  little  plant. 

2.  Busy  workers. 

3.  "These      are      the 

seasons  "(Autumn 
verse). 

Games. 
Stories  and  songs  dra- 
matized. 

Organized  Games. 

1.  Blowinggames(soap 

bubbles,         paper 
frogs,         "ping- 
pong"  ball). 

2.  Guessing  game,  with 

and  without  music. 

•1 

•n, 

.1 

W) 

'.2 

rt 

1^ 

■^  biirt 
0  vS 

c5 

■■5 

1 

0  0 

n 

rn 

3 

1 

-1 

Stories. 

1.  King  Charles,  Story 

of  the  Eddystone 
Lighthouse. 

2.  The  Chestnut  Boys- 

3.  Psyche's    Task,    or 

How  West  Wind 
helped  the  Dande- 
lion. 

4.  Twin  Stars  of  Per- 

seus. 

Recitations. 

1.  The  Dragons' Battle. 

2.  TheWind  (Christina 

G.  Rossetti). 

1 

3 

1 

1.  Oak  tree. 

2.  Nature's  Treasure 

Boxes. 

3.  Seed  Tramps. 

4.  Twin  Children. 

Motto  for  Calendar 
or  Nature  Records. 

' '  FreshOctoberbrings 
the  pheasant. 

Then  to  gather  nuts 
is  pleasant." 

J3 

bo 

SELF-CONTROL. 

Motto. 

"  Teach  us  to  rule  our- 
selves alway. 

Controlled  and  cleanly 
night  and  day." 
(Kipling,     Puck     of 
Pook's  Hill.) 

"I      am      thy      good 
thoughts." 

Scripture. 

t.  Nehemiah   building 
the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

2.  Daniel  in  the  lions' 

den. 

3.  The    little    captive 

maid. 

1 

V 

1 

•J 
>> 

1 


UNIVERSITY    ; 

OF 


HARMONY 

*'  Shall  not  then  the  mixture  of  music  and  gymnastics  make  these 
two  harmonious,  raising-  and  nourishing  the  one  with  beautiful  reason- 
ings and  disciplines,  and  unbending  the  other,  soothing  and  rendering 
it  mild  by  harmony  and  rhythm  ?  " — Plato. 


i 


HARMONY  59 


November.  Children  of  Six  Years. 

One  Week's  Work. 

CENTRAL   THOUGHT: 

Harmony. 

Motto.     *' All  working  together  make  one  perfect  light." 

Working  Song, 

Daily  Talks  on  the  ''Thought." 

Show  difference  between  harmony  and  discord  by 
striking  chords  on  piano. 

Show  harmony  in  nature  by  reference  to — 
i.  Beauty  of  sky — rainbow  with  its  seven  colours 

working  in  harmony  to  make  a  white  light, 
ii.  Beauty  of  form  and  colour  in  flowers,  birds,  in- 
sects, shells. 
We  can  be  in  harmony  by  helping  and  loving  each 
other.     (Doing    kind    actions    and    speaking    loving 
words.) 

The   dragons   we  must  kill  before  we  can    be  in 
harmony  are — 

Selfishness,  disobedience,  bad  temper,  laziness. 
Each  time  we  kill  a  dragon  we  are  warriors,  like 
St.   George,  who  made  the  people  happy  by  killing 
a  selfish  and  greedy  dragon. 

Scripture.  Healing  of  man  sick  of  the  palsy.  When  we 
are  ill,  our  bodies  are  "out  of  tune."  By  healing 
him,  Christ  made  all  the  parts  of  the  man's  body  in 
harmony  with  each  other. 

Songs  and  Hymns.     ^'^ In  our  dear  Lord's  garden.'^ 

Each  child  by  being  kind  and  loving  to  others,  can 
be  a  beautiful  flower  in  God's  garden. 
Working  So7ig  (see  Motto). 

'*  Each  child  has  a  colour,  each  task  is  a  thread. 
The  blue  and  the  yellow,  the  purple  and  red  ; 
All  working  together,  make  one  perfect  light, 
The  robe  that  we  wear  will  be  white." 


6o  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Rainbow  Song.  Each  verse  represents  a  rainbow 
colour,  and  the  whole  song  shows  how  the  seven 
colours  work  together  in  harmony. 

Nature  Talks.     Autumn  tints. 

In  autumn,  nature  changes  her  green  dress  for  one 
of  many  beautiful  colours. 

Variety  of  colours — red,  yellow,  brown. 

Work  of  the  leaves  in  autumn — 

i.  Cover  up  seeds  and  help  to  keep  them  warm. 

ii.   Make  the  soil  rich. 

Beautiful  colours  not  confined  to  leaves  ;  cp.  fruits 
(plums,  apples,  blackberry  with  its  leaves,  hips  and 
haws.) 

Children  gather  leaves  during  walk,  when  they  are 
able  to  see  wonderful  beauty  (i.e.  harmony)  of  nature 
in  flower,  tree,  and  sky. 

Daily  Observations. 

Sky — always  changing,  always  beautiful.  Autumn 
sunsets  very  beautiful.  Sunbeams  often  seen  through 
opening  in  clouds. 

Clouds — colour  and  form,  in  which  direction  moving ; 
cause  of  movement — wind. 

Show  that  all  Mother  Nature's  children  (sun,  clouds, 
wind,  rain)  have  a  work  to  do,  and  by  doing  it  well, 
they  make  harmony  in  nature. 


HARMONY 


6i 


story. 


Game. 


Recitation. 


Occupations. 


Orpheus  and  his 
lute. 

Through  his  music 
he  was  able  to 
chase  away  the 
bad  thoughts  of 
the  people  he 
met. 

Harmony  is  like 
the  music  of  Or- 
pheus, and  will 
chase  away  our 
bad  thoughts, 
and  fill  our 
hearts  with  love 
and  joy. 


Recitation 
Dramatized. 

Children  realize 
the  necessity  of 
working  to- 
gether in  har- 
mony. 

If  one  child  does 
not    help,    the 
game    is 
of  tune." 


■'out 


When  the  recita- 
tion is  mastered, 
it  will  be  con- 
nected with  the 
story  to  form 
another  game. 
The  trees  will 
be  those  to 
which  Orpheus 
played,  and  the 
flowers,  etc.,  of 
the  story  will 
be  represented 
by  children. 


*'Come,  little 
leaves,  said  the 
wind  one  day 

Come  o'er  the 
meadows  with 
me  and  play ; 

Put  on  your  dresses 
of  red  and  gold, 

For  summer  has 
gone,  and  the 
days  are  cold. 

"But    when    the 

leaves  had  gone 

away, 
The   little   leaves 

left    off     their 

play; 
Down   they  sank 

on  the   earth's 

kind  breast, 
Their       playtime 

was  over. 
They  sank  to  rest." 

Read  to  children 
"The         Night 

Wind  "(Eugene 

Field). 


I.  Drawing. 

Leaves  —  oak, 
chestnut,  beech, 
holly. 

Draw  attention  to 
curves  in  the 
rainbow,  sun, 
moon,  petals  of 
flowers,  wings 
of  insects  ;  thus 
showing  har- 
mony in  Nature 
not  only  of 
colour,  but 

form. 

II.  Colotiring. 
Autumn  leaves — 
Children  colour 
drawings  with 
real  object  be- 
fore them.  Thus 
receiving  train- 
ing in  har- 
monious blend- 
ing of  colours 
from  Nature. 

III.  Cutting  and 
Mounting. 

Mountingof  speci- 
mens gives 
training  in  ar- 
rangement. 

IV.  Modelling. 
Beech  leaf— 
Mast  and  seeds. 


62 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


W 

:^ 

> 
O 


i 

Mural  Paintings. 

1.  Sea  fairies. 

2.  Love  and  joy. 

3.  The  squirrels  and 

sparrows. 

1 

Tearing,  Folding, 
Cutting. 

Autumn  leaves,  snail, 
bulb,     plant  -  pot, 
tub. 

Dra-iving. 

Leaves  — oak,    syca- 
more ;     snail    and 
shell,  pot  for  bulbs, 
tub,  pail,  pea-pod. 

Modelling. 

Beech,      mast,     and 
seeds,    plant    pot, 
tub,  pea-pod. 

1 

s 
§ 

Songs. 

1.  Working  Song. 

2.  "Comelittleleaves." 

3.  "Brothers  We." 

4.  "A  Hole  in  a  Log." 

5.  "  Deep  in  the  earth 

of  _  the      world's 
desire." 

Games. 
Dramatize— 

"Come  little  leaves." 
Preparation  for  winter. 

Organized  Games. 

1.  The  three  kingdoms. 

2.  Birds  fly. 

Imitative  Actions. 

1.  Squirrels    gathering 

nuts. 

2.  Swallows  flying. 

3.  Pulling    up    carrots 

and  turnips. 

4.  Potting  plants. 

1 

•J 

Stories. 

1.  Orpheus     and     his 

Lute. 

2.  The  Swallow's  Jour- 

ney, orTheThrifty 
Squirrels. 

3.  Five  peas  in  a  pod. 

4.  The  Awakening,  or 

Pandora  —  How 
Troublescameinto 
the  World. 

Recitations. 

1.  "Little   by   Little" 

(each    part    of    a 
plant  works  in  har- 
mony). 

2.  A  work  divine  (notice 

rainbow    tints    in 
shells.) 

(Tennyson.) 

i 

1 

1.  Autumn  tints— 

The    sunsets   (as   seen 
from  the  school)  are 
most     beautiful     in 
November. 

2.  Preparation          for 
winter— 

(i)  Plants. 
(2)  Animals. 

3.  Nature's         store- 

houses. 

4.  Bulbs. 

Planting      ready      for 
spring. 

Motto  for  Calendar  or 
Nature  Records, 

"Dull  November  brings 

the  blast. 
Then    the    leaves    are 

whirling  fast." 

1, 
1 

HARMONY. 

Mottoes. 

1.  All  working  together 

make  one  perfect 
light. 

2.  Colours   bright,   all 

unite 
In   a  heavenly  har- 
mony. 

Scripture. 

1.  Healing     of     lame 

man. 

2.  Feeding  of  the  five 

thousand. 

3.  Building      of      the 

temple    (harmony 
of     the     whole  — 
silent  growth). 

Ilvmns. 
1.  "In  our  dear  Lord's 
garden." 

8e 

^2 
I-) 

en 

JOY 

"Where  the  heart  rules,  spirituality  is,  for  the  heart  is  the  seat  of 
the  soul."— Katherine  Tingley. 


JOY  65 

December.  One  Week's  Work, 

CENTRAL   THOUGHT: 

Joy. 

Motto.     *'  Each  for  the  joy  of  the  working." 

First  verse  of  Working  Song, 

**  Behold,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings  of  great  joy." 

Daily  Talks,  (a)  Ethical.  This  is  the  last  stone  to  be 
built  in  our  temple,  to  make  it  ready  for  the  ''Still 
Small  Voice."  We  shall  find  it  difficult  to  make  this 
stone  both  strong  and  beautiful,  because  to  make  it 
so  we  must  forget  all  about  ourselves  and  think  only 
of  others. 

Each  time  we  make  some  one  happy,  we  make  our 
Temple  firmer.  That  is  why  we  take  this  thought  for 
the  month  in  which  Christmas  comes,  because  it  is 
a  time  of  joy,  when  every  one  tries  to  make  others 
happy.  We  can  bring  joy  into  the  world  by  having 
kind  thoughts,  speaking  kind  words,  doing  kind 
deeds. 

In  this  way  our  temple  will  be  the  home  of  lovely 
thoughts,  which  will  show  themselves  in  unselfish- 
ness, obedience,  self-control,  harmony,  and  love. 

Scripture.  Angels'  Song  to  the  Shepherds.  The  shep- 
herds were  at  first  frightened,  but  on  hearing  the 
song  of  the  angels,  their  fear  was  turned  into  joy. 
They  set  out  at  once  to  visit  the  manger  where  Jesus 
was  laid,  thus  showing  us  that  real  joy  shows  itself 
in  '*  doing." 

Hymns.  "  Once  in  royal  David's  city." 

**  Come  to  the  manger  in  Bethlehem." 

Note  that  all  Christmas  hymns  are  bright,  and 
make  us  feel  happy.  This  season  is  the  most  joyful 
one  of  the  year — the  time  when  every  one  wishes  to 
make  others  happy. 

F 


66 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Daily  Talks,     {b)  Nature.     Protection  and  Adaptatio?t  of 
Trees  to  Winter. 

Refer  to  preparation  for  winter  in  animal  world. 

Man  puts  on  thicker  and  warmer  clothing. 

Domestic  aninialsy  thicker  coat  of  hair  or  fur. 

Squirrel,  dormouse,  frog,  snail,  find  suitable  shelter 
asleep  all  winter. 

Plants  protected  by  nature. 

Buds  provided  with  warm  coats — scales. 

A^ote. — Sticky  buds  of  horse-chestnut. 

Glossy  leaves  of  most  evergreens — laurel,  holly, 
ivy.  Reason  for  this  shape  of  leaves,  e.g.  pine  and 
fir  ;  reason  for  needle  shape — 

(i)  Resist  wind. 

(2)  Prevent  snow  resting  on  them. 

Walks  to  the  park  to  find  specimens. 

Observation  of  shop  windows  as  Christmas  ap- 
proaches. 


Literature. 


Songs  and  Games. 


Occupations. 


Pictures. 


Stories. 
Piccola. 

The  story  tells  how 
Piccola  was  made 
happy  by  the 
kindness  of  the 
children  who  lived 
in  the  big  house 
near  her  home, 
and  how  she  in 
turn  nursed  and 
cared  for  a  little 
robin, Santa  Glaus' 
present  to  her  on 
Christmas  morn- 
ing. 

Recitation. 
The  fir  tree. 


Working  Song. 

It  is  only  by  doing 
things  for  others 
that  we  can  be 
happy  ourselves, 
for  * '  living  and 
serving  is  joy." 

Games. 

Story  dramatized. 

Children  realize  the 
joy  of  giving  more 
when  acting  the 
story,  than  by 
simple    repetition. 

Organized  Game. 
Blind -man's  buff. 


Tearing,     Folding, 
and  Chitting. 

Holly  leaf,  house, 
shoe. 

Drawing. 

Shoe,  holly  leaf,  and 
berries. 

Modelling. 

Shoe — 

Modelling  lesson 
will  always  be  in- 
troduced by  con- 
versation on  the 
object  to  be  mod- 
elled. Refer  to  the 
joy  of  Piccola  on 
seeing  her  Christ- 
mas present  which 
Santa  Claus  had 
left,  and  the  care 
she  took  in  using 
her  shoe  for  a 
cradle  for  the  bird. 


Santa  Claus. 
Winter  buds. 


JOY 


67 


i 

Mural  Paintings. 

1.  Germination. 

2.  Trees  in  the  differ- 

ent seasons. 

3.  Madonna  and 

Child. 

4.  Christmas 

pictures. 

•1 

Tearing,  Folding,  and 
Cutting. 

1.  Holly  leaf. 

2.  Fir  tree. 

3.  Plum  pudding. 

4.  Duck. 

Drawing. 

Holly  leaf  and  berries, 
fir  tree,  pudding  and 
dish,  duck,  shoe. 

Modelling. 

Pudding  and  dish,  duck 
and  egg,  cone. 

Making  Gifts  for 
others. 

Mother,  father,  school- 
fellows. 

1.  Christmas      cards. 

Sprays     of    holly 
and  mistletoe. 

2.  Baskets,     paper    or 

cane. 

3.  Boxes. 

i 

■4-   «o 

1 

nS 

Songs. 

1.  Working  Song. 

2.  Rainbow  Song. 

3.  Master  Jack  Frost. 

4.  Green   holly  boughs 

bring. 

5.  These       are        the 

seasons      (Christ- 
mas verse). 

Games. 
Dramatize— 
"Piccola." 
Jack  Frost  at  work. 
The  chestnut  boys. 

Organized  Games 
for  Christmas  Parties. 

1.  Spinning  trencher. 

2.  Blind-man's  buff. 

Imitative  Actions. 

1.  A  shower  of  rain. 

2.  Dancing  of  the  sun- 

beams. 

3.  Planting  bulbs. 

4.  Preparing  the  fields 

for  winter. 

bSo 

•5-1 
J  § 

1 
1 

Stories. 

1.  Stories     of    little 

George     Wash- 
ington. 

2.  "Jack  Frost  and 

his  work,"  or  "A 
story     of     the 
forest." 

3.  "Piccola,'"      or 

work   of   Santa 
Claus     (Impro- 
vised). 

Recitations. 

1.  The  Little  Plant. 

2.  To     a     Winter 

Window. 

3.  The  Fir  Tree. 

Read  to  Children. 

1.  Santa  Claus   and 

the  mouse. 

2.  The   fairy's   New 

Year's  gift. 

1 

1 

1.  Conditionsnecessary 

for  plant  growth. 

2.  Protection          and 

adaptation  of  trees 
to  wmter. 

3.  Preparation          for 

Christmas— 

(i)  Decorations, 
(2)  Christmas  cheer. 

Motto  for  Calendar  or 
Nature  Records. 

"Chill  December 
brings  the  sleet, 

Blazing  fire  and  Christ- 
mas treat." 

i 

s 

(5 

JOY. 

Mottoes. 

L.  "Each   for  the  joy 
of  the  working." 

2.  "Behold,  I  bring  you 
glad  tidings," 

Scripture. 

1.  Birth  of  Jesus, 

2.  Visit  of— 
(i)  Wise  men, 
(2)  Shepherds. 

3.  Angels'  song. 

Hymns. 

1.  Once  in  royal  David's 
city. 

2.  Come  to  the  manger 

in  Bethlehem. 

3.  Christmas      carol. 

"Green         holly- 
boughs  bring." 

Of  TH£ 
OF 


OBEDIENCE 

**  Ought  not  then  our  children  to  receive  directly  from  infancy  an 
education  more  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  the  constitution?  Because 
if  their  education  be  such  as  is  contrary  to  law,  and  the  children  be 
of  such  a  nature  themselves,  it  is  impossible  that  they  should  ever 
grow  up  to  be  worthy  men,  and  observant  of  the  laws." — Plato. 


OBEDIENCE  71 


CENTRAL  THOUGHT: 

Obedience. 

Story  Lesson.     Earth  Stars, 

Aim.  To  show  children  that  obedience  gives  happiness 
to  others. 

Apparatus.     Blackboard  and  coloured  chalks. 

The  Story.  Years  ago  there  lived  a  great  many  stars 
in  the  sky  with  their  mother,  the  Moon,  and  their 
father,  the  Sun.  The  work  of  these  tiny  stars  was 
to  light  up  the  sky  at  night,  and  so  make  it  brighter 
for  the  people  who  lived  on  the  earth.  These  stars 
loved  their  mother  and  always  obeyed  her.  But  one 
day  a  naughty  dragon  came  to  some  of  them  and 
told  them  to  disobey  her.  When  she  called  the  stars 
to  shine  in  the  sky,  they  did  not  go  at  once,  and  then 
went  very  slowly,  with  cross  and  sulky  faces. 

This  made  Mrs.  Moon  very  unhappy,  for  she  loved 
her  children,  and  it  made  her  sad  to  think  they  were  dis- 
obedient. Instead  of  letting  these  stars  light  the 
sky,  the  Moon  asked  some  of  her  other  children  to 
do  so.  And  then  the  naughty  stars  felt  themselves 
falling  down,  down  from  the  sky,  until  they  reached 
the  earth.  They  were  sorry  they  had  been  disobedient, 
and  they  felt  so  lonely  that  they  cried  themselves  to 
sleep. 

In  the  morning  when  these  tiny  stars  wakened, 
they  found  their  father,  the  Sun,  looking  at  them. 
They  began  to  cry  again,  and  the  Sun,  seeing  they 
were  really  sorry,  smiled  at  them.  What  do  you 
think  he  said  to  them?  "Little  stars,  you  must 
shine  on  the  earth  instead  of  in  the  sky,  and  so  help 
to  make  the  earth  beautiful." 

And  now,  every  morning  when  the  Sun  looks  at 
the  little  stars,  they  open  their  eyes  and  shine  all  the 
day  and  look  like  beautiful  golden  stars. 


72  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

How  to  give  the  Lesson. 

i.  Tell    the    story    in   simple    language,    without 
interruption. 

ii.  Repeat  story — making  simple  sketch  on  black- 
board as  story  proceeds,  illustrating  chief 
points,  e.g.  clouds,  moon,  and  stars,  field 
with  fence. 

iii.   Question  children  on  story — 

What  is  our  story  about?  (Moon,  sun, 
stars,  etc.) 

What  work  did  these  stars  do?    (Lit  up  sky.) 

What  happened  one  night  ?  (The  stars  were 
disobedient.) 

How  did  their  mother  punish  them  ? 

What  did  the  sun  tell  them  to  do  ? 

Did  they  obey  him?  What  dragon  did  they 
kill  by  doing  as  they  were  told?  (Dis- 
obedient.) 

What  must  we  do  to  kill  our  dragfons  ? 
("  Fight  them  boldly  every  day.") 


*&' 


iv.  Children  stand  and  sing  the  ''Warrior  Song," 
or  child  recites  second  verse  of  ''Warrior 
Song." 

V.   Individual  children  repeat  story. 


UNIVERiai  i  t 

OF  ^ 


OBEDIENCE 

75 

Nature  Talk : 

Story: 

Order 

in  Nature. 

Earth  Stars. 

GAME 

Story  Dramatized 

Froebel's  Mother  Plays,  translated  and  pre- 
pared by  Susan  K.  Blow. 
Songfs  introduced  : 

*'  O  look  at  the  moon  "  (M.  U.  K.  L.). 

*'  Happy  little  sunbeams  "  (Lotus  Song  Book). 

*'  Brothers  we  "  (Lotus  Song-  Book). 

Apparatus.     Crown  for  Mr.  Sun. 

Coloured  wings  for  Sunbeams. 

Silver-papered  disc  for  Mrs.  Moon. 

Paper  stars  for  Sky  Stars  to  wear. 

Collars  for  Earth  Stars. 

Wand  for  Fairy. 

Black  cloak  for  the  Draofon. 


ORDER    OF   GAME 

Step  I.   Revision  of  Story. 

Allow  one  child  to  retell  the  story  or  revise  by 
means  of  questions. 

(If  the  Story  Lesson  directly  precedes  the 
Game,  Step  i  will  not  be  necessary.) 

Step  2.   Choosing  of  Characters. 

Let  the  children  name  all  the  people  in  the 
story  and  choose  which  of  the  following  each 
will  represent,  viz. — 

Mr.  Sun  and  seven  Sunbeams. 
Mrs.  Moon  and  the  Stars. 

Two  kinds— Obedient  and  Disobedient. 
The  Fairy. 
The  Dragon. 


76    CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Step  3.   Placing  in  position. 

Draw  small  circle  for  the  Earth  ;  the  remainder 
of  the  room  can  be  the  Sky. 

The  Sun  and  Sunbeams  are  away  in  the  west. 
The  Dragon  is  sleeping. 

Step  4.   Dramatize  story. 

Fairy  goes  away. 
Disobedient  Dragon  comes. 
Mother  Moon  tells  half  her  children  to  sleep, 
but  calls  the  others  to  her. 

The  Dragon  whispers,  *'  Don't  go  yet." 

They  come  very  slowly. 
Now  she  tells  them  to  shine. 

The  Dragon  says  '*  Don't." 

They  hang  their  heads  and  look  very  sulky. 

Therefore  mother  calls  her  other  children  to 
shine,  and  punishes  the  naughty  ones  by  send- 
ing them  down  to  earth,  where  they  sob  them- 
selves to  sleep. 

Mr.  Sun  and  Sunbeams  now  enter,  singing — 

**  Happy  little  sunbeams 

Darting  through  the  blue, 
Even  little  sunbeams 

Have  a  work  to  do  ; 
Shining  out  our  brightest, 
We,  with  radiance  clad, 
Help  to  make  the  rainbow 
Make  the  great  world  glad. 

Lotus  Song  Book. 

Mr.  Sun  hears  the  children  sobbing,  and  asks 
why  they  are  on  the  Earth  instead  of  being  with 
Mother  Moon. 

On  hearing  how  sorry  they  are  he  changes 
them  to  dandelions,  to  shine  during  the  day. 


PaleBl 


Dark  Blue       PurpI 


'Orang* 
Red 


OBEDIENCE 


79 


Step  4.  The  Sunbeams  dress  each  one  in  a  pretty 
collar,  and  now  the  "Earth  Stars"  (as  they 
are  called)  look  very  happy. 

The  Dragon  is  afraid  and  crawls  away  under 
a  seat  to  die. 

The  Fairy  returns,  and  as  she  dances  towards 
Earth,  all  join  hands. 

Mr.  Sun  and  Mrs.  Moon  and  the  Sunbeams — 
stretching-  across  the  sky. 

Each   Earth  Star  clasps  the  hand  of  a  Sky 
Star,  while  all  sing — 

BROTHERS   WE 


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2  To  and  fro,  as  we  go, 
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The  white  light  of  unity. 


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back  to  children  and  form  a  ring. 


8o 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


The  Moon  and  Stars  take  up  their  position  in 
the  Sky  and  shine  on  the  Earth.  The  Fairy 
stands  on  the  Earth  and  sings  : — 


O   LOOK   AT  THE    MOON! 

(From  Froebel's  Mother  Play ;  translated  and  prepared 
by  Susan  E.  Blow.) 


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NATURE  TALK  AND  OBSERVATIONS 

*'  Men  are  to  be  educated  by  wholesome  habit,  not  by  rewards  and 
punishments."—  RusKiN. 


Helpers. 


HbrKI  I70W  W)e  little  roii?  drops. 


"Happy  lil't'le  ^upbearp^." 


FEBRUARY 

s 

M 

T 

W 

T 

F 

S 

•     • 

•    • 

•     • 

•     • 

•    • 

1 

2 

s 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

Tuesday 

13 

Vclcnrine's 

14 

Day 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

ZZ 

28 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

•       m 

•       • 

~[Bcl"rce  waa  cold,  t^e  ^rtt  woj  bare!* 


NATURE   TALK   AND   OBSERVATIONS        87 


NATURE   TALK   AND   OBSERVATIONS    FOR 

WEEK   CONTAINING    FEBRUARY    14TH, 

ST.    VALENTINE'S    DAY 

N.B.  — The  following-  is  sufficient  for  a  week's  talks  of  fifteen 
minutes  duration,  and  should  be  the  outcome  of  observations  made 
during  a  visit  to  the  park  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  school. 

February's  Helpers. 

Time  for  Walk.  Valentine's  Day,  if  conditions  are 
favourable. 

Place  for  Walk.  Park  in  vicinity,  if  conditions  are 
favourable. 

Class  L     Age,  six  years. 

Aim.  To  lead  children  to  observe  Mother  Nature's  Helpers, 
and  to  show  how,  in  obedience  to  her  call,  they  are 
ever  ready  and  willing  to  do  their  appointed  task. 

Apparatus.  Nature  Calendar  for  February  indicating 
the  day  of  the  month  ;  rain  and  snow  scene  ;  Mother 
Nature's  valentines  and  postman  ;  snowdrops  in  pot ; 
picture  of  robin  ;  blackboard  and  accessories. 

Introduction.       Refer    to    calendar.  Children's  Illustrations 

educe    day,    date,    Valentine's  «"    Blackboard    or 

Day.     If  weather  is  unsuitable  Blackened^Desk. 

for     walk.     Fairy     Godmother  February  14th. 

wave  wand — transform  scene —  Valentine's  Day. 
imaginary  walk  to  park  in  the 
vicinity. 

Mother  Nature's  Valentines. 

I.    Snowdrop.      ^''February's  Fair 

Maid:' 

Explain  that  we  are  going  to 
look  for  some  of  Mother  Na- 
ture's Valentines,  but  they  do 
not  always  come  on   the  same 


88 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


day.  Children  name  some  ;  if 
not,  point  to  snowdrop — name  ? 
Poet's  name — *'  February's  Fair 
Maid."  Reason?  Refer  to 
sword-like  leaves — pointed  buds 
clad  in  silky  hoods — Mother 
Nature's  provision  for  pushing- 
through  the  hard  soil,  and  pro- 
tection against  the  cold  and 
wet  —  bravery  in  facing  the 
enemy,  the  cold  blasts  and  the 
keen  bite  of  Jack  Frost,  com- 
pare with  St.  George's  bravery 
in  facing  danger.  Snowdrop 
might  be  called  "  February's 
Warrior  Maid."  Educe  form 
of  ordinary  valentine — contents 
(message  of  love,  gift,  fun). 

Mother  Nature's  Valentine 
brings  a  message — what  is  it? 
(Blackboard.) 

*'  Princess  Spring  is  coming 
and  sends  her  love." 

2.  Catki7is.  Look  for  other  valen- 
tines. Mother  Nature  does  not 
put  them  all  on  the  ground,  but 
hangs  some  on  the  trees  and 
bushes.  Name,  colour,  reason 
for  colour,  name  of  trees,  Mr. 
Wind's  work. 

Mother  Nature's  Postman. 

The  Robin.  Refer  to  the  bearer 
of  the  valentines,  i.e.  messages. 
Mother  Nature  has  a  postman, 
so  what  will  he  bring?  De- 
scribe postman  :  brown  head, 
red  breast,  warm  soft  coat — 
name?  Method  of  delivering 
messages — to  whom  delivered — 


Children's  Illustrations 
on  Blackboard  or 
Blackened  Desk. 


February  14th. 
Valentine's  Day. 


NATURE  TALK  AND  OBSERVATIONS 


89 


contents  of  messag-es — ''Spring 
is  coming-."  Flowers,  trees, 
birds,  etc.,  must  be  ready  to 
receive  Princess  Spring,  i.e. 
they  must  be  obedient  children 
and  busy  workers.  Sing — ''Busy 
Workers." 

"  Twitter,  twitter,  chirp  the  sparrows, 
Bonny,  busy  little  birds  ; 
Hopping-  up  and  down  the  g^arden. 
Never  wasting-  time  in  words. 

"All  around  are  busy  workers — 
What  can  little  children  do? 
They  can  be  like  gleams  of  sunshine. 
Good  as  gold  and  happy  too." 

Or, 

"  The  Spring  has  called  us  from  our  sleep, 
And  from  the  g-round  we  g-ladly  peep  ; 
We  love  to  hear  her  gentle  call, 
And  come  to  greet  her,  one  and  all." 
Spring  Flowers,  by  Mrs.  Heerwart. 

February's  Helpers. 

Picture  "  February's  Fair 
Maid "  in  her  brown  little 
house  locked  in  the  hard,  dry 
ground  —  cannot  possibly  get 
ready  for  Princess  Spring  all 
alone,  so  who  must  come  and 
help? 

I.  The  Rain  softens  the  earth, 
makes  the  brown  autumn  leaves 
on  the  ground  soft,  then  turns 
them  into  food  for  the  plants. 
Sing— 

"  Hark,  how  the  little  raindrops 
Fitter  patter  down  the  pane. 
Fitter  patter,  pitter  patter. 
Fitter  patter  down  the  lane." 


Children's  Illustrations 
on  Blackboard  or 
Blackened  Desk. 


February  14th. 
Valentine's  Day. 


/  /  /       /     / 


/ 


/  / 


90 


CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


2.  The  Snow.     Sometimes  the  cold 

north  wind  breathes  on  the 
raindrops  and  covers  them  with 
lovely  white  dresses  with  pretty 
collars  having-  six  points.  Work 
of  Snow  Fairies  ?  (Keep  the 
earth  warm  and  cover  the  trees 
with  a  white  robe.) 
Refer  to — 

*'  The  tree  was  cold,  the  tree  was  bare, 
She  shivered  and  shook  in  the  frosty  air, 
Then  she  called  to  her  friend,  the  dear, 

kind  May, 
O  g^ive  me  a  new  leafy  gown,  I  pray. " 

3.  The   Sunbeams.     Soon   Mr.   Sun 

comes  and  makes  the  Snow 
Fairies  take  off  their  lovely 
white  dresses,  and  then  they 
have  other  work  to  do.  What 
is  it?  What  other  work  do  the 
busy  little  sunbeams  do  ? 

1.  Tell   the   flowers   to  come 

out  of  their  houses  and 
to  take  off  their  silk 
bonnets. 

2.  Tell  the  tree  buds  to  take 

off  their  coats. 

3.  Tell  pussy  willow  to  take 

off  his  gray  furry  hood. 

4.  The  Frost     Refer  to  water  sink- 

ing in  the  soil.  Jack  Frost 
appears.  What  does  he  do  ? 
Which  takes  up  more  room, 
frost  or  water?  So  what  will 
happen  ?  Cracks  the  soil — 
breaks  it  up.  ''Mother  Nature's 
Ploujjh." 


Children's  Illustrations 
on  Blackboard  or 
Blackened  Desk. 


February  14th. 


Sunbeams. 


Frost. 


NATURE  TALK  AND  OBSERVATIONS         91 


Revise  names  of  helpers — 
work — whom  they  help.  Com- 
pare with  children  in  the  home 
helping-  mother  ;  kind  of  chil- 
dren, because  ready  to  help 
whenever  mother  calls  (obedi- 
ent). Kind  of  children  are 
Mother  Nature's  Helpers  ? 


Children's  Illustrations 
on  Blackboard  or 
Blackened  Desk. 


February  14th. 


BLACKBOARD   SUMMARY 

Mother  Nature's  Valentines    . 
,,  ,,         Postman 

,,  ,,         Obedient  Children 

February's  Helpers 

Books  from  which  Songs  are  taken  :— 


f  snowdrop. 
I  catkins. 

robin. 

rain, 
snow, 
sunshine, 
frost. 


1.  Busy    Workers    (Chimes    for    Children,    by    B.    and 

R.  W.  Hawkins). 

2.  Spring    Flowers    (Music    for    the    Kindergarten,    by 

Eleonore  Heerwart). 

3.  The  Raindrop's  Song  (Golden   Boat  Action  Songs, 

by  L.  Ormiston  Chant). 

4.  The  Tree  in  Winter  (Songs  for  Little  Children,  by 

Eleanor  Smith). 


92  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

CENTRAL   THOUGHT: 

Obedience. 

Story  Lesson.      The  Little  Snow  Fairies. 

Aim.     To  show  that  joy  is  the  outcome  of  obedience. 

The  Story.  There  were  many  little  fairies  once  living  in 
a  big  shining  lake.  The  big  sun  shone  overhead, 
sending  down  her  sunbeams  to  ask  the  fairies  to  come 
out  and  play. 

It  was  winter,  so  there  were  no  lovely  flowers 
where  the  fairies  could  play  hide-and-seek;  only 
bare  trees,  brightened  here  and  there  by  a  holly  bush 
with  its  scarlet  berries. 

When  the  fairies  heard  the  sun's  call,  they  obeyed 
her  at  once,  and  as  they  came  out,  each  fairy  put  on 
a  light  grey  waterproof.  After  a  while  the  fairies 
felt  very  cold,  and  one  of  them  said:  "Let  us  pay 
a  visit  to  the  sun  ;  perhaps  we  shall  be  warmer  near 
her." 

Up  and  up  they  went,  dancing  about  in  the  air,  on 
their  way  to  the  sun.  Before  they  reached  the  sun's 
palace,  they  met  some  dragons.  These  dragons  blew 
the  little  fairies  about  and  tore  their  pretty  dresses 
and  cloaks. 

Just  when  the  fairies  were  feeling  that  they  could 
fight  the  dragons  no  longer,  their  friend.  Jack  Frost, 
came  along  and  gave  each  fairy  a  beautiful  white 
frock,  each  dress  having  six  points  on  the  skirt. 

One  of  the  fairies  said  :  '*  Let  us  go  down  to  the 
earth  and  show  our  sisters  in  the  lake  our  pretty 
dresses. 

So  the  fairies  fluttered  silently  to  the  earth,  covering 
it  with  a  beautiful  white  carpet.  When  the  sun 
shines  on  the  snow  fairies,  they  sparkle  like  diamonds. 


OBEDIENCE 


93 


How  to  give  the  Lesson. 

i.  Tell  the  story  in  simple  language,  without 
interruption. 

ii.  Repeat  the  story,  at  the  same  time  making  a 
simple  sketch  on  blackboard,  showing  chief 
objects  in  story,  e.g.  tree,  lake,  sun. 

iii.   Children  then  stand  and  sing — 
'*  Pretty  little  Snowflakes." 

iv.   Give  a  few  questions  on  story,  e.g. — 

What  is  our  story  about? 

Where  did  the  fairies  live  ?  What  did  the  sun 
tell  them  to  do  ? 

What  kind  of  fairies  were  they  ?  (Obedient — 
refer  to  the  "  Thought "  for  the  month.) 

What  did  they  meet  on  their  journey  to  the 
sun? 

Who  helped  them  to  master  the  dragons  ? 

What  dragons  have  we  to  master  ? 

Where  did  the  fairies  go,  when  they  got 
their  new  frocks  ? 

V.   Individual  children  repeat  story. 
Sketch  to  illustrate  story. 


94  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Nature  Talk  :  Story : 

February  s  Helpers.  Little  White  Fairies 

(Winter  (Strong).) 

GAME 

Story  Dramatized 

Introducing  songs — 

*'  Warriors  of  the  Golden  Cord." 

*'  The  Tree  in  Winter  "  (Eleanor  Smith). 

*' Jack  Frost." 

Characters.     Water  Fairies. 

Sun  and  Sunbeams  (seven). 

Jack  Frost. 

North  Wind. 

Trees  near  the  Lake. 

Apparatus.     Crown  for  Mrs.  Sun. 

Rainbow  colours  (wings,  stars,  or  scarves) 

for  the  Sunbeams. 
Cotton-wool  cap  for  Jack  Frost. 
Paper  cap,   with  N  printed  on,   for   North 

Wind. 
Tablecloth  for  the  cloud. 
Winter  twigs  for  the  trees  to  hold. 

ORDER   OF   GAME 

March  to  the  lake,  singing — 

Warriors  of  the  Golden  Cord 

Marching  on  together  ; 
Now  we  tramp,  and  now  our  feet 

Rise  and  fall  together. 
See  our  torches  burning  bright. 

Giving  light  to  others. 
As  we  march  upon  our  way. 

Loyal  band  of  brothers. 


OBEDIENCE  ^  95 

Would  you  know  what  foes  we  seek, 

As  we  march  so  steady  ? 
Why,  they're  dragons  fierce  and  strong- 

For  the  battle  ready. 
Selfishness  and  wrong  they're  called, 

And  we  love  them  never  ; 
Fight  them  boldly  every  day, 

Till  they're  gone  for  ever.  Halt! 

Draw  the  lake  on  the  floor — plant  trees  around  it. 

Choose  the  characters. 

The  trees  to  be  planted. 

Fairies  to  live  in  the  lake. 

Sun  and  Sunbeams,  who  hide  behind  the  cloud 
(tablecloth  held  vertically  by  two  children),  while 

North  Wind  and  Jack  Frost  talk  over  their  plans. 

While  the  Sun  and  Sunbeams  hide,  the  trees  begin 
to  shiver  while  the  song  is  played,  then 

All  sing  the  first  verse  of  "The  Tree  in  Winter" 
(Eleanor  Smith,  p.  23) — 

The  tree  was  cold,  the  tree  was  bare, 
She  shivered  and  shook  in  the  frosty  air ; 
Then  she  called  to  her  friend,  the  dear,  kind  May, 
'*  O  bring  me  a  new  leafy  robe,  I  pray  !  " 

After  the  first  verse  Mrs.  Sun  shines  out,  and  calls 
the  water  fairies  to  her  ;  they  obey,  but  are  met  by 
North  Wind,  whose  roughness  frightens  them. 

North  Wind  calls  Jack  Frost,  who  enters  while  the 
second  verse  is  being  sung,  and  sings  the  last  line — 

But  Spring  had  journeyed  far  away. 

And  wouldn't  return  for  many  a  day  ; 

So  that  old  Jack  Frost,  a  good  little  elf. 

Said,  '*  I'll  make  a  gown  for  the  tree  myself!  " 

Now  Jack  Frost  blows  very  hard  and  changes  the 
little  frightened  water  fairies  into  happy  snowflakes, 
asking  them  to  come  help  him  cover  the  trees,  which 
they  do  during  the  singing  of  the  third  verse. 


96  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

He  wove  a  robe  all  snowy  white, 
From  frozen  white  mist  with  an  ice-fringe  bright ; 
And  the  pretty  tree,  in  new  gown  dressed, 
Couldn't  tell  whether  leaves  or  the  snow  was  best. 

Jack    Frost  waves   his    cap,   changing   trees,   sun- 
beams, etc.,  into  children  again. 

All  form  circle,  with  Jack  in  the  centre,  join  hands, 
and  sing — 

Verse  i.    **  We  know  to  our  cost 

That  Master  Jack  Frost 

Is  the  funniest  fellow  in  town. 
With  pinches  and  pricks, 
He's  up  to  his  tricks. 

And  no  sooner  up  than  he's  down. 

Verse  2.    *'  In  prison  of  ice, 

He  locks  in  a  trice 

The  fishes  that  swim  in  the  lake  ; 
He  freezes  your  nose. 
Puts  chilblains  on  toes, 

And  makes  little  finger-tips  ache. 

Verse  3.    "He  slyly  will  trace 
A  slippery  place, 

Where  all  little  people  may  trip  ; 
And  great  is  his  joy, 
When  some  girl  or  boy 

Goes  down  with  a  shout  and  a  slip." 

Chimes  for  Children  y 

By  B.  and  W.  R.  Hawkins. 


MUSIC 


97 


To  the  following  tune- 

Quickly  and  lightly. 


;iPj^^^^^E^ga 


yS¥ 


JJI 


£^^E5 


■^-f^ 


i^1^E#^ 


Then  give  three  cheers  for  Jack  Frost,  who  bows, 
gives  the  order  to  him,  and  leads  the  way  home. 


98  CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


REFERENCE    BOOKS 
Songs  and  Recitations. 

I.  The  Songs  and  Music  of  Frederick  FroebePs 
Mother  Play.  Prepared  and  arranged  by  Susan  E. 
Blow.  Publisher:  Edward  Arnold,  37  Bedford  Street, 
Strand,  W.C. 

1.  The  Family  (p.  206). 

2.  O  Look  at  the  Moon. 

3.  Bird  Thoughts. 

4.  The  Wind. 

5.  The  Weather-vane  (p.  8). 

6.  The  Bird's  Nest. 

7.  The  Little  Plant. 

8.  The  Wandering  Song  (p.  266). 

9.  Deep  in  the  Earth  of  the  World's  Desire. 

n.  Songs  for  Little  Children.  Composed  and 
arranged  by  Eleanor  Smith.  Published  by  J.  Curwen 
and  Sons. 

1.  The  Tree  in  Winter. 

2.  The  Snowflakes. 

3.  Welcome,  Little  Robin. 

4.  Rain  Shower. 

5.  The  Caterpillar. 

6.  Daffy-down-dilly. 

7.  The  Squirrel. 

8.  Come,  Little  Leaves. 

9.  Little  White  Feathers. 

10.  Froebel's  Birthday  Song. 

11.  Christmas  Carol. 

HL  Chimes  for  Children.  By  B,  and  R.  W. 
Hawkins.     Publishers  :  W.  and  R.  Chambers. 

1.  Busy  Workers. 

2.  Jack  Frost. 

3.  March  Winds. 


REFERENCE   BOOKS  99 

IV.  The  Lotus   Song  Book.      Raja   Yoga   School, 
Point  Loma,  California.     (By  permission.) 

1.  I  am  the  Spirit  of  Love. 

2.  Happy  Little  Sunbeams. 

3.  Brothers  we. 

4.  Buds. 

5.  Orpheus  with  his  Lute. 

6.  Deep  in  the  Earth  of  the  World's  Desire. 

7.  Warriors  of  the  Golden  Cord. 

8.  We  are  wise  because  we  know. 

V.  Band  of  Mercy. 

1.  On  Streets,  in  Homes  and  Schools. 

2.  God  Bless  our  Parting  Band. 

VI.  Music  for    the    Kindergarten.       By    Eleonore 
Heerwart.     Boosey  and  Co. 

1.  Buttercups  and  Daisies. 

2.  The  Spring  Flowers. 

3.  Birdies  in  the  Wood. 

4.  All  Things  Bright  and  Beautiful. 

VH.    Golden  Boat  Action  Songs.     By  L.   Ormiston 
Chant.     J.  Curwen  and  Sons. 

Raindrops  Song. 

VHL   Peeps  at  Playtime.    Publisher  :  Chas.  Dibble. 
These  are  the  Seasons. 

Story  Books. 

i.    Greek  Myths. 

ii.   Stead's  Penny  Books. 
iii.   All  the  Year  Round.    Strong.    Ginn  and  Co. 

Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,  and  Winter, 
iv.  In  the  Child's  World. 

V.    The  Story  Hour. 
vi.   Legends  of  Greece  and  Rome. 


UNIVERSITY   I 

OF 


^ 


SUGGESTIONS    FOR   THE 

WORKING    OUT   OF   THE  THOUGHT 

IN   THE    UPPER   SCHOOL 

'•  We  cannot  kindle  when  we  will 

The  fire  which  in  the  heart  resides, 
The  spirit  bloweth,  and  is  still, 

In  mystery  our  soul  abides. 
But  tasks  in  hours  of  insig-ht  willed, 
Can  be  through  hours  of  g-loom  fulfilled." 

W.  Arnold. 

"  Do  you  not  see,  O  my  brothers  and  sisters. 
It  is  not  chaos  or  death — it  is  form,  union?  " 

Walt  Whitman. 


WEEKLY  THOUGHTS 


105 


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no        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


THE    FOLLOWING   ARE    SUGGESTIONS 

TO   THE    HEAD   TEACHER   FOR 

THE   WORKING   OUT   OF   THE   THOUGHT 

A  copy  of  one  of  the  Thoughts  is  sent  round  to  every 
class  teacher  on  Friday  afternoon  ;  and  each  teacher 
embodies  the  ideas  given  in  her  scheme  of  work  for  the 
week,  but  graded  according  to  the  age  and  ability  of  the 
class. 

The  quotations  from  poetry  or  prose  should  be  taken, 
as  a  rule,  from  those  already  learned.  If  a  new  verse  or 
couplet  only  is  taken,  then  the  context  should  be  read  to 
the  class,  and  a  short  account  of  the  piece  given.  For 
instance,  in  the  first  Thought  on  the  list,  only  one  verse  of 
Wordsworth's  poem  is  given,  because  that  verse  bears 
specially  on  the  Thought  ''  Resolution,"  although  the 
children  have  previously  learnt  the  most  important  part  of 
the  poem,  viz.  four  verses.  The  lines  from  "In  Memo- 
riam  "  are  isolated  ones,  but  they  are  given  to  show  the 
children  that  Tennyson  taught  the  same  truth.  Long- 
fellow's poem,  "The  Ladder  of  St.  Augustine,"  is  memo- 
rized in  its  entirety. 


•^     OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


He!n«t  ot"  Saivat.» 

atiQ   the    Swofd    J    Ihc; 

'   which    IS      J 

the  W)r<i    of  Cod 


RESOLUTIONS  113 


RESOLUTIONS: 

Literature.     '*  I  will  go  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord." 

Ps.  Ixxi. 

1.  *'  Love  now,  an  universal  birth, 

From  heart  to  heart  is  stealing  ; 
From  earth  to  man,  from  man  to  earth. 
It  is  the  hour  of  feehng. 

2.  ''  Some  silent  laws  our  hearts  will  make. 

Which  they  shall  long  obey  ; 
We  for  the  year  to  come 

May  take  our  temper  from  to-day. 

3.  ''  And  from  the  blessed  power 

That  rolls  about,  below,  above. 
We'll  frame  the  measure  of  our  souls. 
They  shall  be  tuned  to  love." 

Wordsworth. 

**  Men  may  rise  on  stepping  stones 
Of  their  dead  selves  to  higher  things." 

Tennyson. 

*'  All  common  things,  each  day's  events. 
That  with  the  hour  begin  and  end  ; 
Our  pleasures  and  our  discontents 

Are  rounds  by  which  we  may  ascend." 

Longfellow. 

Character  Study.     St.  Christopher. 

Daily  Talks.  We  ought  to  make  resolutions,  or,  as 
Wordsworth  calls  them,  ''silent  laws,"  with  a  firm 
determination  to  keep  them.  The  thoughts  we  take 
in  school  help  us  to  make  the  silent  laws,  but  the 
resolutions  that  we  make  are  not  know^n  to  any 
one  else.  The  making  of  these  resolutions  is  like 
the    architect's    making    of    the    plan    of    a     house 


1.4    CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

to  be  built.  The  result  may  not  be  a  perfect 
copy,  but  it  will  be  all  the  better  for  the  aim 
or  plan  at  the  beginning.  Our  resolutions  must  be 
chosen  according  to  our  own  needs  and  aspirations, 
but  we  may  all  make  one  or  two  resolutions  in 
common.  We  may  all  resolve  to  perform  a  kind 
action  whenever  possible,  and  to  put  joy  into  our 
work.  Then  we  shall  do  well  to  think  of  our  particu- 
lar faults  and  resolve  to  overcome  them  as  St.  George 
resolved  to  overcome  the  dragon.  How  we  can  best 
carry  out  these  resolutions  will  be  the  work  of  the 
future,  but  we  are  sure  that  the  "  Still  Small  Voice  " 
will  direct  us  in  the  path  we  choose.  It  is  well  when 
making  resolutions  to  choose  an  ideal  character — one 
who  has  overcome  the  faults  or  dragons  which  we 
wish  to  conquer  or  who  possesses  a  virtue  we  would 
possess.  The  New  Year  is  a  fitting  time  to  make 
some  "silent  laws"  and  '*take  our  temper  from 
to-day."  St.  Christopher  made  a  resolution,  but  how 
hard  he  found  it  was  to  keep  ;  but  he  went  on  doing 
his  duty  in  all  its  monotony,  and  at  last  he  got  his 
reward,  just  when  he  least  expected  it. 


SELF-REVERENCE  115 


Self- Reverence. 

Literature.    "  Ye  are  the  temples  of  the  livings  God." 

St.  Paul. 

*'  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before."  Tennyson. 

"  To  thine  own  self  be  true  ; 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day. 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

Hamlet. 

Character  Study  or  Biography.  JoanofArc.^  (Teachers 
read  Mark  Twain's  y6>««  of  Arc.) 

Daily  Talks.  The  Self  that  we  have  to  reverence  is  that 
self  which  we  call  the  "  Still  Small  Voice."  If  we  are 
true  to  this  our  "own  self,"  as  Shakespeare  calls  it, 
we  shall  have  self-reverence.  Joan  of  Arc  was  a 
humble  peasant  girl.  She  knew  she  could  best  hear 
the  voice  of  her  conscience  when  alone,  and  she 
used  to  go  alone  for  prayer. 

Here  the  voice  within  gave  her  the  mission  en- 
trusted to  her.  By  her  great  courage  and  her  faith  in 
her  "voices"  she  saved  her  country.  Then  she 
wished  to  go  back  to  her  simple  life,  knowing  that 
her  mission  was  accomplished.  This,  however,  she 
was  not  allowed  to  do.  Had  she  been  allowed  to 
obey  the  "voices,"  her  life  would  probably  have 
been  saved. 

Plato  said:  "This  power  is  in  the  soul  of  every 
one,  and  is  the  organ  by  which  every  one  learns." 

A  French  writer  on  Education,  Rousseau,  said  : 
"Conscience  is  the  voice  of  the  soul  ...  it  is  the 
true  guide  of  man  ;  it  is  to  man  what  instinct  is  to 
the  body." 

^  See  page  223. 


ii6        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Self-Knowledge. 

Literature.  "The  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon 
him,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the 
spirit  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord." 

Isaiah  xi.  2. 

**  Self-reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, 
These  three  alone  lead  life  to  sovereign  power ; 
Acting  the  law  we  live  by  without  fear, 
And  because  right  is  right  to  follow  right." 

Tennyson. 

'Tis  the  mind  that  makes  the  body  rich. 

For  as  the  sun  shineth  through  the  darkest  cloud, 

So  honour  peereth  in  the  meanest  habit." 

Tamifig  of  the  Shrew. 

*'  Man,  know  thyself."         Socrates. 


i( 


Character  Study.     Socrates. 

Daily  Talks.  We  have  learned  that  there  is  a  higher 
self  and  a  lower  self,  and  that  it  is  the  higher  self 
that  we  reverence.  The  lower  self  needs  our  study 
to  find  out  our  faults,  so  that  we  can  master  them, 
and  if  we  have  any  special  gift  or  talent,  we  may  culti- 
vate it. 

Carlyle  said  that  it  was  only  by  work  that  we 
gained  self-knowledge  ;  we  found  out  what  we  could 
do  well  and  saw  ourselves  reflected  in  it  as  it  were. 
Good  work,  well  done,  brought  out  the  best  that  was 
in  us,  and  gives  us  self-respect  and  self-reliance.  Let 
us  find  out  what  we  can  do  well,  and  take  joy  in 
doing  it.  We  can  learn  also  what  prevents  our 
work  for  others  or  for  ourselves  from  being  our  best. 
We  thus  gain  self-knowledge,  and  having  found  out 
our  gifts  and  our  limitations  we  must  set  to  work  to 
perfect  the  one  and  overcome  the  other.  Wordsworth 
went  to  nature  ;  there  he  learnt  his  power  and  used 
it  in   writing  poetry.     Dickens  found  his  talent  and 


SELF-CONTROL  117 

used  it  in  writing-  to  help  children.  He  laid  bare  the 
evils  of  school  life  of  that  day,  and  the  awfulness  of 
London  slum  Hfe  for  the  children.  Socrates,  the 
great  Athenian  philosopher,  taught  his  pupils  the 
importance  of  self-knowledge.  He  had  the  power  of 
influencing"  men,  and  used  it  well  and  wisely. 

Ruskin  says  :  ''In  the  knowledge  of  ourselves  we 
shall  gfain  that  self-dependent  power  which  is  the 
secret  of  true  work." 


ii8        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Self-Control. 

Literature.  "I  keep  under  my  body  and  bring-  it  into 
subjection."  St.  Pauu 

*'  Not  only  to  keep  down  the  base  in  man, 
But  to  teach  high  thoughts,   amiable  words,  and 
courtliness."  Tennyson. 

"  With  faith  that  comes  of  self-control." 

Tennyson. 

''  Knowledge  is  now  no  more  a  fountain  sealed. 
Drink  deep,  until  the  habits  of  the  slave, 
The  sins  of  emptiness,  gossip,  and  spite. 
And  slander  die. "  Tennyson. 

*'  Teach  us  to  rule  ourselves  alway, 
Controlled  and  cleanly  night  and  day ; 
That  we  may  bring,  if  need  arise, 
No  maimed  or  worthless  sacrifice." 

Kipling. 

Character  Study.  George  Washington.  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 

Daily  Talks.  By  self-knowledge  we  have  found  out 
the  faults  that  we  have  to  conquer,  and  we  know 
that  we  have  an  inward  monitor,  something  that 
warns  and  guides  us,  and  with  faith  in  this  higher 
self  and  obedience  to  it  we  can  control  our  lower 
self.  As  we  learnt  in  the  kindergarten,  we  can  kill 
our  dragons  —  the  faults  that  prevent  our  being 
warriors  like  St.  George.  When  Sir  Isaac  Newton's 
dog  tore  up  his  valuable  paper,  what  self-control  he 
must  have  had,  not  even  to  say  an  angry  word  !  In 
The  PrificesSj  Tennyson  tells  us  some  of  the  faults 
that  need  controlling  and  he  calls  them  the  "  habits  of 
the  slave,"  because  they  are  all  faults  which  spring 
from  lack  of  self-control — they  belong  to  the  lower 


M 


SELF-CONTROL  119 

self.  We  know  before  anything  is  done  the  thought 
enters  the  mind  first,  so  we  must  carefully  watch  and 
control  our  thoughts,  remembering  that  Shakespeare 
says  :  — 

"  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 

What  self-control  the  sentry  at  Pompeii  had  to 
keep  to  his  post ! 

Plato  says  : — 

*'When  the  more  excellent  part  in  his  nature 
governs  the  inferior  part,  this  is  called  being  master 
of  himself." 


I20        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Harmony. 

Literature.  ' '  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together 
in  My  name,  there  will  I  be  in  the  midst  of  them." 

Jesus. 

**  From  harmony,  from  universal  harmony, 

This  universal  frame  began."  Dryden. 

**  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more. 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well. 
May  make  one  music  as  before."       Tennyson. 

**  Such  harmony  is  in  immortal  souls  ; 
But  whilst  this  muddy  vesture  of  decay 
Doth  grossly  close  it  in,  we  cannot  hear  it." 

Merchant  of  Venice. 
Character  Study.     Sir  Galahad.     Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

Daily  Talks.  Plato  has  said  that  '*the  man  who  has 
the  spirit  of  harmony  will  be  most  in  love  with  the 
loveliest, "because,  as  he  says  elsewhere,  that  "rhythm 
and  harmony  find  their  way  into  the  inward  places  of 
the  soul."  Harmony  is  found  in  us  when  we  are 
practising  self-reverence,  self-knowledge,  and  self- 
control ;  then  the  *'mind  and  soul,  according  well," 
as  Tennyson  says,  will  '*make  one  music  as  before." 

A  Japanese  writer  has  said,  *'  It  means,  in  other 
words,  that  by  constant  exercise  and  correct  manners 
one  brings  all  the  parts  and  faculties  of  the  body 
into  perfect  order  and  into  such  harmony  with  itself 
and  its  environment,  as  to  express  the  mastery  of 
spirit  over  flesh  "  ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the 
Japanese  know  the  real  meaning  of  good  manners — 
the  *'  outward  manifestation  of  a  sympathetic  regard 
for  the  feeling  of  others,"  not  just  the  fear  of  offend- 
ing good  taste. 


JOY  121 


Joy. 

Literature.  '*Ye  shall  rejoice  in  all  that  ye  put  your 
hand  unto." — Deut.  xii.  7. 

"  While  with  an  eye  made  quiet  by  the  power 
Of  harmony,  and  the  deep  power  of  joy, 
We  see  into  the  life  of  things."      Wordsworth. 

'*  Each  for  the  joy  of  the  working-, 
And  each  in  his  separate  star, 
Shall  draw  the  thing  as  he  sees  it. 
For  the  God  of  things  as  they  are." 

Kipling. 

**  And  then  my  heart  with  pleasure  fills, 
And  dances  with  the  daffodils." 

Wordsworth. 

Character  Study.  Robert  Browning's  ''The  Boy  and 
the  Angel. " 

Daily  Talks.  No  good  work  can  be  done  unless  one's 
heart  is  in  the  work.  Joy  makes  the  dullest  work 
seem  bright,  and  it  depends  entirely  upon  ourselves 
whether  our  work  in  school  is  joyous  or  irksome. 
Even  Mark  Tapley,  amidst  all  his  hard  work,  could 
be  jolly.  True  happiness  comes  from  within  from 
mind  and  soul  in  harmony.  We  show  it  in  our 
work  ;  joy  enters  it  and  we  make  "  drudgery  divine." 
Robert  Browning  shows  how  much  good  the  little 
girl  Pippa  did  in  one  day  by  her  happy,  joyous  nature. 
Every  one  who  heard  her  was  made  better.  And 
again  in  "The  Boy  and  the  Angel,"  Browning  tells 
us  that  the  little  boy's  work  was  more  acceptable  to 
God  while  he  was  a  shoemaker  than  when  he  became 
pope,  because  of  the  joy  in  his  work. 

In  the  poem  Puck  of  Pook's  Hill^  Kipling  writes: — 

"Teach  us  delight  in  simple  things. 
And  mirth  that  has  no  bitter  springs." 


T22        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Ideals. 

Literature.      "  Be  thou  perfect."— Gen.  xvii.  i. 

"  Be  ye  therefore  perfect." — Matt.  v.  48. 

*'  Who  aimeth  at  the  sky  shoots  hig^her  much 

Than  he  who  aims  a  tree."       Geo.  Herbert. 

"  Her  air  had  a  meaning,  her  movements  a  grace, 
You  turned  from  the  fairest  to  gaze  on  her  face  ; 
And  when  you  had  once  seen  her  forehead  and  mouth, 
You  saw  as  distinctly,  her  soul  and  her  truth." 

E.   B.   Browning. 
**  And,  indeed,  he  seems  to  me 
Scarce  other  than  my  ideal  knight, 
Who  reverenced  his  conscience  as  his  king, 
Whose  glory  was  redeeming  human  wrong." 

Idylls  of  tfie  King. 


Character  Studies.  Wordsworth's  wife,  E.  B.  Browning's 
*'  My  Kate,"  or  The  Prince's  mother  from  Tennyson's 
"  Princess." 

Daily  Talks.  We  all  should  have  an  aim  in  life  ;  one 
not  too  easily  obtainable,  for  Geo.  Herbert  tells  us 
to  "pitch  our  projects  high,"  and  Robert  Browning 
says  "A  man's  reach  should  exceed  his  grasp." 
Before  a  picture  is  painted,  the  artist  has  an  ideal  in 
his  mind.  In  the  same  way  we  must  have  a  clear 
idea  in  our  mind  of  what  we  mean  to  become.  Our 
idea  must  not  end  in  lovely  thoughts  ;  it  must  be 
made  a  reality  in  our  lives.  However  high  our  ideal 
may  be,  it  must  start  from  within  ourselves,  for  our 
nature— our  real  self— is  divine  enough  to  reach  any 
height.  Our  ideals  are  ever  changing.  What  seemed 
to  us  the  highest  ideal  a  year  ago,  has  given  place  to 
still  higher  aims.  If  we  could  be  stripped  of  all 
selfishness,    the    "ideal"    would    shine    out.     Mrs. 


IDEALS  123 

Browning's    Ideal    was   a   woman   who   was    pure    In 
heart  and  who  tried  to  make  others  happy. 

Tennyson's  Ideal  was  Sir  Galahad.  To  reach  our 
Ideals  we  must  not  be  discouraged  ;  we  must  keep  on 
trying-. 

Leonardo  da  VIncI,  the  great  painter,  kept  trying 
for  twelve  years  to  find  the  Ideal  face  he  wanted  for 
the  Christ  of  his  great  picture,  *'  The  Last  Supper." 
Repeated  failure  did  not  daunt  him,  and  at  the  last 
he  was  successful. 


124        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Loyalty. 

Literature.     "  Honour  all  men.     Love  the  brotherhood. 
Fear  God.     Honour  the  king." — i  Peter  ii.  17. 

*'  To  reverence  the  king  as  if  he  were  their  conscience, 
And  their  conscience  as  their  king."         Tennyson. 

"  To  thine  own  self  be  true  ; 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

Shakespeare. 

**  Land  of  our  birth,  we  pledge  to  thee 
Our  love  and  toil  in  the  years  to  be  ; 
When  we  are  grown  and  take  our  place, 
As  men  and  women  with  our  race." 

R.  Kipling. 

Character  Studies.     Sir  Thomas  More  or  William  Tell. 

Daily  Talks.  Loyalty  is  faithfulness.  Shakespeare  says 
that  if  we  are  loyal  to  our  higher  self  we  shall  be 
true  to  every  one.  To  be  true  to  our  higher  self  we 
must  listen  and  obey  the  *'  Still  Small  Voice."  Then 
we  shall  be  loyal  to  all,  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  to 
our  parents  and  teachers,  and  to  our  school.  We 
show  our  loyalty  to  our  country  by  keeping  the  laws  ; 
our  loyalty  to  parents  and  teachers  by  love  and 
obedience  ;  our  loyalty  to  our  school  by  doing  every- 
thing to  honour  and  nothing  to  disgrace  it. 

Sir  Thomas  More  was  an  upright  statesman,  who 
lived  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  Henry  wished  to 
be  recognized  "Head  of  the  Church."  More  saw 
that  his  aim  was  self-interest,  and  he  could  not 
acknowledge  him  as  Head.  Rather  than  fail  in  his 
loyalty  to  his  conscience,  he  forfeited  his  life.  Per- 
haps Shakespeare  was  thinking  of  him  when  he 
wrote:  **To  thine  own  self  be  true";  and  again, 
"  Every  subject's  duty  is  the  king's,  but  every 
subject's  soul  is  his  own. " 


ALTRUISM  125 


Altruism. 

Literature.  *'Do  unto  others  as  ye  would  they  should 
do  unto  you."  Jesus. 

"  Have  goodwill  to  all  that  lives,  letting  unkindness  die, 
And  greed,  and  wrath,  so  that  your  lives  be  made, 
Like  soft  airs  passing  by."         Sir  Edwin  Arnold. 

**  Ah  !  when  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land?  " 

Tennyson. 

Character  Study.     Abou-Ben-Adhem. 

Daily  Talk.  The  word  Altruism  is  derived  from  alter — 
another.  Altruism  is  helping  others  in  thought,  word, 
and  deed.  The  practice  of  altruism  is  the  observance 
of  the  golden  rule.  It  is  by  knowledge  of  our  own 
natures,  by  self-knowledge,  that  we  learn  the  needs  of 
others,  for  all  are  built  in  the  same  mould — in  the 
image  of  the  Divine.  Altruism  is  the  keynote  of 
the  gospels.  Jesus  said:  '*A  new  commandment  I 
give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another."  Tennyson 
says  that  the  practice  of  altruism  everywhere  will 
result  in  universal  peace.  Leigh  Hunt  teaches  us 
beautifully  in  his  poem,  that  by  serving  and  loving 
his  fellow-men,  Abou-Ben-Adhem  was  serving  God. 

Ruskin  says  :  "  A  nation  multiplies  its  strength  only 
by  increasing  as  one  great  family  in  perfect  fellowship 
and  brotherhood." — Crown  of  Wild  Olive. 


126        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Self-Reliance. 

Literature.    *'  For  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden." 

St.  Paul. 

*'  One  who  never  turned  his  back, 
But  marched  breast  forward  ; 
Never  doubted  clouds  would  break  ; 
Never  dreamed,  though  right  were  worsted. 
Wrong  would  triumph  ; 
Held,  we  fall  to  rise. 
Are  baffled  to  fight  better."      R.  Browning. 

"  Our  remedies  oft  in  ourselves  do  lie. 
Which  we  ascribe  to  Heaven." 

Airs  Well  that  Ends  Well. 

"  Teach  us  to  bear  the  yoke  in  youth, 
With  steadfastness  and  careful  truth." 

Kipling. 

Character  Study.     Christopher  Columbus. 

Daily  Talks.  Self-reliance  is  having  trust  in  ourselves, 
doing  the  work  before  us  with  all  our  energies_, 
"putting  our  shoulder  to  the  wheel,"  as  Hercules 
did,  without  doubt  of  our  innate  strength.  Success 
may  not  attend  the  first  attempt,  but  failure  at  first  is 
often  a  gain  to  character  and  makes  the  next  attempt 
more  valuable  if  we  have  learnt  from  the  first  non- 
success  the  cause  of  the  failure.  Remember  that 
"not  failure,  buflow  aim,  is  crime."  If  Columbus 
had  not  had  self-reliance,  he  would  never  have 
reached  America.  The  habit  of  depending  on  others 
weakens  the  will  and  destroys  the  power  of  initiative. 
Hamlet  had  no  self-reliance  ;  the  more  he  debated  in 
his  mind,  the  more  indecisive  he  became,  and  the 
less  qualified  to  do  anything  which  he  deemed  worthy 
of  success. 


DRUDGERY  127 


Temperance. 

Literature.  "Everyman  that  striveth  for  the  mastery 
is  temperate  in  all  things."  St.   Paul. 

"  The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will, 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength,  and  skill." 

Wordsworth. 
"  Temperance  resembles  a  kind  of  harmony." 

Plato. 

Character  Study.  Temperance  is  moderation.  It  is 
having  control  over  our  eating,  drinking,  speaking, 
working,  and  playing.  It  is  self-control.  Plato  said 
that  "temperance  was  a  government  of  certain 
pleasures  and  desires,  or  being  master  of  oneself." 
It  was  because  of  the  perfect  training  of  the  ancient 
Greeks  in  temperance  that  they  attained  their  equipoise, 
and  their  high  position  in  art  and  letters.  It  is  the 
conditions  of  life  in  which  some  people  live  that 
cause  them  to  resort  to  intemperance  in  alcohol.  If 
we  could  take  away  for  a  time  all  the  luxuries  that 
make  life  enjoyable  and  that  are  unnecessary,  each 
one  of  us  would  have  some  special  luxury  that  we 
should  miss  and  which  we  depend  upon,  almost  as  the 
drunkard  does  upon  alcohol.  Let  us  not  be  intem- 
perate in  our  railings  against  the  faults  of  others,  if 
they  are  not  our  own  also 


128        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Drudgery. 

Literature.      *'  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do 
it  with  thy  might." — Eccles.  ix.  lo. 

'*  A  servant  with  this  clause 
Makes  drudgery  divine  ; 
Who  sweeps  a  room  as  for  Thy  laws 
Makes  that  and  the  action  fine." 

Geo.  Herbert. 

**  All  service  ranks  the  same  with  God, 
His  presence  fills  our  earth  ; 
Each  only  as  God  wills  can  work." 

Robert  Browning. 

**  Of  perfect  service  rendered,  duties  done, 

In  charity,  soft  speech,  and  stainless  days  ; 
These  riches  shall  not  fade  away  in  life. 
Nor  any  death  dispraise." 

Sir  Ed.  Arnold. 

Character  Study.     Sir  Gareth.     Theocrite. 

Daily  Talks.  Nothing  great  is  done  without  some 
amount  of  drudgery  beforehand.  When  the  aim  is 
high,  and  the  mind  is  kept  on  the  end  to  be  accom- 
plished, no  thought  of  drudgery  as  such  is  ever 
entertained  for  a  moment.  Too  much  interest  and 
love  of  the  work  prevent  that.  All  the  Knights  of 
the  Round  Table  had  to  go  through  hard  training 
before  they  could  win  the  title  of  knight.  Sir  Gareth 
served  a  year  and  a  day  in  the  kitchen  before  he  could 
even  make  himself  known  to  the  King.  He  made 
his  drudgery  "divine."  There  is  a  dignity  in  the 
work  well  done,  however  menial  it  appears.  Browning 
tells  us  how  Theocrite  made  his  work  divine,  and  that 
it  required  an  angel  to  take  his  place  when  he  was 
translated  to  Rome,  and  that  in  his  high  office  there 
he  failed  in  what  so  distinguished  him  in  his  humbler 


DRUDGERY  129 

calling".  As  a  cobbler  God  said  of  him  ''  Well  done," 
but  when  he  became  pope,  God  missed  His  "little 
human  praise." 

Mrs.    Browning  wrote  a  beautiful  poem   of    Italy 
called  ''  Aurora  Leigh,"  and  in  It  she  says  : — 

"  Let  us  be  content,  in  work, 
To  do  the  thing  we  can,  and  not  presume 
To  fret  because  it's  little." 


I30        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Gentleness. 

Literature.     "  Thy  gentleness  hath  made  me  great." 

Psalms. 
"  Your  gentleness  shall  force 
More  than  your  force  moves  us  to  gentleness." 

Shakespeare. 
"  Her  voice  was  ever  soft, 
Gentle  and  low,  an  excellent  thing  in  woman." 

Shakespeare. 

'*  Ring  in  the  nobler  modes  of  life. 
With  sweeter  manners,  purer  laws." 

Tennyson. 

Character  Study.     Cordelia.     Lady  Jane  Grey. 

Daily  Talks.  Cordelia  was  a  lovely  character,  a  truly 
womanly  woman,  and  Shakespeare  tells  us  of  her 
voice,  because  he  knew  that  the  voice  was  often  an 
index  of  character.  He  knew  that  if  she  had  learnt 
to  control  her  voice,  it  was  more  than  probable  she 
had  also  learnt  self-control.  Gentle  as  she  was,  she 
was  not  weak  nor  silly,  as  she  commanded  respect 
from  the  most  honoured  of  the  nobles.  It  was  through 
the  deceit  of  others  that  she  suffered  so  much.  Her 
father  could  say  of  her  and  of  all  she  suffered  for 
him — 

"  Upon  such  sacrifices,  my  Cordelia, 
The  gods  themselves  throw  incense." 

In  the  '*  Princess, "Tennyson  tells  us  that  the  Prince's 
mother  "  was  not  learned  save  in  gracious  household 
ways,"  that  is,  she  *'  was  gentle  in  her  bearing  and  in 
her  work,"  and  the  Prince  could  say  *'  Happy  he  with 
such  a  mother." 

In  speaking  of  the  gentleness  and  sweetness  of 
Kate,  Mrs.  E.  B.  Browning  says  that — 

"  Men  at  her  side  grew  nobler,  girls  purer, 

As    through    the    whole    town,    the    children    were 

gladder 
That  pulled  at  her  gown." 


THANKFULNESS  131 


Thankfulness. 

Literature.      '*  In  everything  give  thanks." 

I  Thess.  V.  18. 
"  Blow,  blow  thou  winter  wind  ! 
Thou  art  not  so  unkind 
As  man's  ingratitude. 
Thy  tooth  is  not  so  keen, 
Because  thou  art  not  seen. 

Although  thy  breath  be  rude." 

As  You  Like  It 
''  The  song  is  to  the  singer  and  comes  back  most  to 
him."  Walt  Whitman. 

Character  Study.     Harvest  Thanksgivings. 

Daily  Talks.  We  must  cultivate  a  thanksgiving  feeling, 
for  we  have  so  much  daily  to  be  thankful  for.  It  is 
not  enough  to  say  grace  and  to  return  thanks  for  a 
good  dinner.  Surely  that  is  only  one  of  the  many  of 
the  good  gifts  we  enjoy.  Read  extracts  from  Lamb's 
essay  on  "  Grace  before  Meat." 

''  The  air  we  breathe,  the  sky,  the  breeze. 
The  light  without  us  and  within  : 
Life,  with  its  unlocked  treasuries," 

are  all  God's  gifts,  for  which  we  should  be  thankful. 
They  should  fill  us  with  a  warm  glow  of  joy,  which 
should  give  us  power  to  work  better  and  help  us  to 
make  resolutions  to  do  better.  Harvest  thanksgivings 
are  observed  annually  by  the  churches  as  an  out- 
ward thanksgiving  for  the  blessings  of  the  year,  but 
it  is  the  constant  unceasing  spring  of  thanks  we 
must  cultivate  for  the  many  blessings  we  enjoy.  How 
grateful  one  should  be  to  teachers  and  those  who 
help  us  to  see  things  aright !  It  costs  so  little  to  say 
'*  Thank  you  "  for  kindnesses  done  ;  but  let  the  feeling 
of  thanks  exist,  as  well  as  the  saying  of  the  word. 

Marcus  Aurelius,  when  he  was  ill  on  the  Danubian 
frontier,  beguiled  the  hours  in  recalling  the  lessons 
in  right  thinking  and  right  living  he  had  received  in 
youth,  and  then  paid  his  debt  of  generous  gratitude. 


132        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Obedience. 

Literature.     "  Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord." 

Eph.  vi.  I. 

'*  Not  once,  or  twice,  in  our  rough  island  story, 
The  path  of  duty  was  the  way  to  glory." 

Tennyson. 

**  Now  these  are  the  laws  of  the  jungle,  and  many 
and  mighty  are  they  ; 
But  the  head  and  the  hoof  of  the  Law,  and  the 
haunch  and  the  hump  is — obey." 

R.  Kipling. 

Character  Study.  Sentry  iat  Pompeii.  The  Japanese 
swarming  the  Russian  forts  at  Port  Arthur  in  face  of 
certain  death. 

Daily  Talks.  Obedience  is  the  first  duty  of  life.  Even 
in  play  we  have  to  obey  our  Leader  and  the  rules  of 
the  game.  Only  those  who  obey  promptly  and 
thoroughly  are  fitted  to  command.  Obedience  is  due, 
first,  to  the  Still  Small  Voice  which  is  the  expression 
of  the  Divine  in  each  of  us — we  have  to  *'obey  our 
conscience  as  our  king  "  ;  second,  to  those  set  over 
us,  as  did  our  soldiers  in  the  Crimea.  The  Charge 
of  the  Light  Brigade  will  always  be  remembered  as 
an  example  of  ready  obedience. 

"  Theirs  not  to  reason  why, 
Theirs  but  to  do  and  die." 

We  are  seldom  asked  to  do  anything  that  we  do 
not  know  the  reason  for  doing,  but  when  the  order 
comes  from  one  whose  authority  we  acknowledge, 
we  are  in  duty  bound  to  obey.  Read  Mrs.  Gatty's 
story  of  obedience  in  "  Parables  from  Nature." 


GOODWILL  133 


GoodwilL 

Literature.     *'On  earth  peace,  goodwill  towards  men." 

Luke  ii.  14. 
**  Have  goodwill 
To  all  that  lives,  letting  unkindness  die. 
And  greed  and  wrath,  so  that  your  lives  be  made 
Like  soft  airs  passing  by." 

Sir  Ed.  Arnold. 

**  The  self-same  moment  I  could  pray." 

Coleridge. 

**  Ah  !  when  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule  ?  " 

Tennyson. 

Character  Study.     Abou-Ben-Adhem. 

Daily  Talks.  Peace  and  goodwill  was  the  message  that 
the  angels  said  Christ  brought  to  mankind.  He  came 
to  impress  on  mankind  that  they  should  '*  do  unto 
others  as  they  would  that  men  should  do  unto  them." 
All  the  poets  and  great  writers  have  taught  that 
"goodwill  to  all  that  lives  "  is  the  keynote  of  all  true 
religions.  Coleridge  showed  that  as  soon  as  good- 
will entered  the  heart  of  the  Ancient  Mariner  the 
burden  fell  from  his  neck  and  he  could  pray. 

Lejgh  Hunt  showed  us  that  Abou  found  out  that 
by  loving  his  fellow-men,  he  was  loving  God.  Sir 
Edwin  Arnold  taught  the  same  in  his  beautiful  poem, 
the  **  Light  of  Asia." 


134        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Perseverance. 

Literature.    ' '  Watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance. " 

Eph.  vi.  i8. 

*'  The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept 
Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight ; 
But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upwards  in  the  night." 

Longfellow. 

**  Men  may  rise  on  stepping-stones 
Of  their  dead  selves  to  higher  things." 

Tennyson. 

Character  Study.  Thomas  Edison.  Henry  Irving  or 
Helen  Keller. 

Daily  Talks.  It  is  of  no  use  taking  "Thoughts  "  week 
by  week  and"  making  resolutions  if  we  do  not  per- 
severe in  trying  to  keep  them.  It  is  not  feasy  always, 
and  it  is  only  by  persevering  that  the  "Thoughts" 
will  become  habits  with  us.  Genius,  as  Carlyle  has 
said,  is  only  "an  infinite  capacity  for  taking  pains." 
Think  of  Thomas  Edison  and  all  he  has  done  for  us. 
An  idea  would  flash  upon  his  mind,  but  it  would 
require  great  perseverance  to  work  it  out  and  make  it 
practicable.  We  are  not  all  geniuses,  but  if  wise  and 
clever  people  have  to  take  great  pains,  how  much 
more  is  it  necessary  for  ordinary  people.  The  great 
actor  Irving  knew  how  necessary  it  was  to  persevere 
in  everything  he  did.  Tennyson  saw  him  play  Hamlet 
in  1879,  ^^^  five  years  after  he  said  of  it,  "I  did  not 
think  Irving  could  have  improved  his  Hamlet  of  five 
years  ago,  but  now  he  has  improved  it  five  degrees, 
and  those  five  degrees  have  lifted  it  to  heaven." 

Never  was  there  a  greater  example  of  perseverance 
than  Helen  Keller,  crippled  so  sadly  from  birth  and  yet 
surmounting  all  obstacles  and  becoming  a  cultured 
woman.    Her  joyousness,  too,  in  life,  is  unbounded. 


TRUTHFULNESS  135 

Truthfulness. 

Literature.  **Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil,  and  thy  lips 
that  they  speak  no  guile."—  Ps.  xxxiv.  13, 

**  Prune  thou  thy  words,  the  thoughts  control 
That  o'er  thee  swell  and  throng, 
Thy  will  condense  within  thy  soul. 
And  change  to  purpose  strong." 

F.  H.  Newman. 
'*  Govern  thy  lips 
As  they  were  palace  doors,  the  king  within. 
Tranquil  and  fair  and  courteous  be  all  words 
Which  from  that  Presence  win."^ 

Sir  Ed.  Arnold. 
"  To  speak  no  slander,  no,  nor  listen  to  it. 
To  honour  his  own  word  as  if  his  God's." 

Tennyson. 

Character  Study.    Duke  of  Wellington. 

Daily  Talks.  To  love  the  truth  was  one  of  the  vows 
the  Knights  of  the  RoUnd  Table  rnade  before  entering 
the  service  of  the  King.  We  also  made  the  same 
promise  to  ourselves  when  we  resolved  to  have  self- 
reverence  ;  that  is,  to  do  nothing  that  would  dis- 
grace our  Higher  Self. 

Cowardice  is  often  at  the  root  of  untruthfulness. 
When  one  has  done  something  wrong,  one  should 
have  the  courage  to  bear  the  consequences,  and  not 
try  to  hide  the  fault  by  lying,  for  that  only  doubles 
the  fault.  What  an  example  the  great  Duke  is  to  us, 
and  could  anything  better  be  said  of  one  than  what 
the  late  Poet  Laureate  wrote  of  him — 

.  *' Yet  remember  alt 

He  spoke  among  you,  and  the  man  who  spoke. 
Who  never  sold  the  truth  to  serve  the  hour, 
Nor  paltered  with  Eternal  God  for  power  "? 
How  ashamed    and    sorrowful   Sir   Bedivere    must 
have  been  all  his  life  after  his  untruthfulness  to"  his 
King.      It  would  lessen  the  remorse  a  little,  that  he 
did  not  persevere  in  his  deceit ;  but  what  a  difference 
to  him  had  he  been  true  from  the  first. 


136        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Co-operation. 

Literature.     *'  Be  kindly  affectioned  one  to  another,  with 
brotherly  love." — Romans  xii.  10. 

**  The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 

Their  fellowship  renew.*'     Wordsworth. 

**  All  are  needed  by  each  one  ; 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone." 

Emerson. 
**  So  work  the  honey  bees, 
Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature,  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

Shakespeare. 

Character  Study.    Robert  Owen.    The  American  War  of 
Independence. 

Daily  Talks.  In  every  class  this  week,  make  a  special 
study  of  Emerson's  poem  from  which  the  above 
extract  is  taken.  The  whole  poem,  *'  Each  and  All," 
teaches  co-operation,  and  that  things,  like  people, 
should  be  judged  and  seen  in  their  proper  environ- 
ment to  be  appreciated.  All  work  should  be  co- 
operative in  school  —  if  teachers  do  not  get  the 
co-operation  of  the  children,  then  the  work  is  poor 
and  wanting  in  heart.  Our  school  motto,  *'  Each 
for  the  joy  of  the  working,"  really  is  at  the  root, 
teaching  co-operation.  If  work  is  done  gladly  and 
happily,  then  selfishness  is  more  likely  to  be  absent. 
It  is  when  the  school  and  the  staff  are  of  one  mind, 
and  aiming  for  one  good  thing,  that  real  co-operation 
in  school  is  apparent.  Where  the  parents  are  not 
fully  qualified  to  educate  their  children,  the  teacher 
must  do  as  far  as  possible  the  parents'  work,  and 
here  we  see  an  urgent  need  for  sympathetic  co-oper- 
ation between  the  parent  and  the  teacher. 

The  honey  bee,  to  whose  services  in  orchard  and 
garden  we  owe  so  much,  gives  us  in  its  life  a  splendid 
instance  of  co-operation.  We  find  many  individuals 
aiming  to  build  a  common  dwelling  and  to  provide  and 
store  up  food  for  all. 


CO-OPERATION 

I  will  make  divine  magnetic  bands 
With  the  love  of  comrades, 
With  the  life-long  love  of  comrades." 

Walt  Whitman. 


The  following  ''Schemes  of  Lessons"  are  the  weekly 
notes  drawn  up  by  the  teachers  to  show  how  the  ethical 
teaching"  is  given,  and  how  the  ''Thought"  is  introduced 
into  each  subject.  They  are  not  intended  to  show  method 
or  the  full  substance  of  the  lessons  to  be  given.  The 
teachers  embody  the  "  Suggestions  "  in  their  "Schemes," 
according  to  the  ability  of  their  respective  classes. 

Several  detailed  "  Notes  of  Lessons  "  are  also  given  to 
show  more  clearly  how  the  "  Thought  "  is  introduced  and 
applied. 


142        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 
Standard  VI.  One  Week's  Work. 

Co-operation. 

Extracts  frovi  poems  memorized. 

"  All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone."        Emerson. 

"  Ah  !  when  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land  ?  " 

Tennyson. 

*'  The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 

Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root. 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 

In  every  fibre  true."  Wordsworth. 

Daily  Talks. 

Meaning.  Co-operation  (co^together,  opus — work) 
is  **a  working  together"  with  one  aim — the  good  of 
all.     As  Emerson  says — 

**  All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone." 

Why  needed,     (i)  To  promote  harmony  ;   and 

(2)  To  do  good  to  others. 

*'  Ah  !  when  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land  ?  " 

Where  found. 
In  nature. 

(i)  Sounds  and  colours.  Wherever  harmony  is, 
there  is  co-operation,  as  we  sing  in  *'  Working  Song." 
The  colours  "all  working  together  make  one  perfect 
light." 


CO-OPERATION  143 

(2)  In  plant  life.  Parts  of  plants  all  depend  upon 
other  parts  for  support  and  nourishment.  Wordsworth 
expresses  this — 

*'The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 

Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root. 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 

In  every  fibre  true." 

(3)  In  anhnal  life.  Bees,  ants,  etc.,  all  work 
together  for  the  good  of  the  swarm.  Queen  chosen, 
all  others  co-operate  in  general  work  of  hive.  Non- 
workers  are  driven  out.  Shakespeare  well  expresses 
this— 

*'  So  work  the  honey  bees. 
Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature,  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

Between  ourselves. 

(i)  In  homes.  To  bring  harmony  and  to  cultivate 
thrift  each  should  do  the  work  best  suited  to  particular 
talents  and  yet  for  the  good  of  the  whole  family. 

(2)  In  schools.  A  spirit  of  loyalty.  Scholars  and 
teachers  work  for  the  good  of  each  and  yet  for  the 
good  of  the  school  as  a  whole — esprit  de  corps. 

(3)  In  social  life  generally.  Value  shown  by  forma- 
tion of  co-operative  societies,  savings  banks,  etc. 

In  ourselves. 

Mind  and  soul  must  grow  together,  as  Tennyson 
says — 

**  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

All  the  co-operation  in  nature  and  amongst  in- 
dividuals can  never  give  us  harmony  unless  there  is 
co-operation  within. 


144        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Character  Study.     King  Arthur  and  his  knights. 

King  Arthur  is  an  example  of  one  who  kept  his 
knights  together  by  the  spirit  of  co-operation.  They 
were  knit  together  by  a  common  vow — (i)  to  help  the 
weak,  and  (2)  to  find  the  Holy  Grail. 


Scripture.     The  deliverance 
of  Moses  and  Aaron. 


of   Israelites — co-operation 


/Moses — the  leader  and  governor. 
I  Aaron — the  spokesman  and  priest. 

Readmg.  "  Knights  of  Round  Table."  Chap- 
ters on  the  work  of  all. 

*'  Historical  Reader."  Chapter  upon 
American  War. 

"Patriots  All."  Stories  showing  co- 
operation. 

Hn^lish.    Composition.     Essay  on  "  Co-operation. " 

Story  of  the  formation  of  the  Round  Table, 

with  biographical  sketch  of  King  Arthur. 
Reproduction  of  lessons   on    "American 

War  of  Independence,"  and  on  "Thrift." 

Grammar .  Formation  of  sentences,  showing 
how  each  part  depends  upon  another,  and 
all  parts  combine  to  express  one  thought. 

History.    The  American  War  of  Independence. 
Co-operation,  or  uniting  of  states  against 
common  enemy,  made  "  United  States." 

Geography.  United  States — climate,  industries, 
and  commerce.  Each  state  co-operates  with 
others  in  interchange  of  productions,  which 
vary  with  climate. 

Domestic  Econom-y.     Lesson  on  "Thrift." 

Economy  in  home  best  gained  by  co- 
operation. 

Co-operative  societies,  savings  banks,  all 
depend  upon  co-operation  of  members. 


CO-OPERATION  145 

Arithmetic.  Simple  interest.   Terms,  etc.,  used. 
Banks,    etc.,    practical    example    of    co- 
operation. 

Shareholders,  lenders,  borrowers,  all  work 
together. 

Singing.  Harmony  is  the  result  of  ''blended 
parts." 

Practise  "  Working  Song  "  and  "  Brother- 
hood Song." 

Physical  Exercises.  Exercises  combining  those 
for  various  parts  of  the  body — all  parts  must 
be  equally  developed. 

Organized  Games.  A  spirit  of  "give-and- 
take  "  to  be  inculcated. 

Individuality  must  be  sunk  sometimes  for 
"good  of  all." 


146        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Standard  IV. 

Co-operation. 

Literature. 

Extracts  from  poems  inemorized. 

"  All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone." 

Emerson. 
*'  So  work  the  honey  bees, 
Creatures  that  by  rule  in  nature  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

Shakespeare. 

*'  The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 

Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root, 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 

In  every  fibre  true."  Wordsworth. 

"Self-reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, 
These  three  alone  lead  life  to  sovereign  power." 

Tennyson. 
**  Have  goodwill  to  all  that  lives. 
Letting  unkindness  die." 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold. 

Character  Study.     The  Life  of  King  Arthur. 

Read    Mrs.    Gatty's    Parable    from    Nature,    The 
Master  of  the  Harvest. 

Daily  Talk.  The  meaning  of  Co-operation — working 
together  ;  banding  together  for  common  end  ;  form- 
ing a  union. 

We  often  hear  the  saying,  "  Unity  is  Strength." 
So  people,  by  co-operating,  can  succeed,  where  one 
working  alone  could  not. 

There  are  examples  of  co-operation   found   every- 
where. 

(a)  In  ourselves.     Our  mind   and  soul  must  be  in 

harmony  before  we  can  be  perfect. 

(b)  ///    homes.     All    must    work    together    for    the 

good  and  welfare  of  the  home. 


CO-OPERATION  147 

(c)  In  schools.     Scholars  and  teachers  should  work 

together,  if  their  work  is  to  be  successful. 

(d)  Co-operative  Societies.     Members  band  together 

for  mutual  good. 

(e)  In  Army  and  Navy.    Victories  are  won  through 

co-operation  of  men  and  officers. 

(f)  In  nature.     Plant  life  depends  on  rain  and  sun  ; 

bees  carry  pollen  to  fertilize  flowers  ;  wind 
scatters  seeds,  and  seven  colours  blend 
together  to  make  light. 

(g)  Kiyig  Arthur's  knights.     Worked  together — 

1.  To  redress  human  wrongs. 

2.  To  search  for  the  Holy  Grail. 

(h)  In  the  orchestra.     All  instruments  must  blend. 

Scripture. 

New  Testament.  The  Choosing  of  the  Twelve 
Disciples.  .  ' 

Their  work  an  example  of  co-operation^^ 
(One  sower  of  discord — Judas. 

Old  Testament.     Moses — aC^^der  of  the  Israelites. 
Aaron — his  spokesman  to  Pharaoh. 
(Both  worked  together.) 
Grammar.     The  formation  of  a  sentence. 

One  part  alone  cannot  make  the  sentence— different 
parts  needed  to  complete  the  sense  of  whole. 

Domestic  Economy.  All  parts  of  us  must  work  together 
to  make  a  healthy  body. 

One  part  is  dependent  upon  another. 
Care  in  food — it  should  be  plain  and  wholesome. 
And  in  clothing^it  should  be  suitable  and  warm. 
(See  lesson  from  book.) 

History.  The  First  House  of  Commons  and  Simon  de 
Montfort. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  England  the 
representatives  of  the  people  co-operated  with  the 
barons  and  nobles  to  make  the  laws. 

In  the  Grand  Imperial  Parliament  co-operation  is 
seen.  The  Mother  Country  and  colonies  unite — hence 
great  power. 


148        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Geography.     Revise  commerce  of  Scotland  and  Ireland. 

England — chief  market  for  Irish  productions. 

Co-operation  seen  in  trade  — one  with  another. 

In  both  countries  people  are  trying  to  co-operate 

with  the  poor — (a)  Cottage  industries  of  Ireland. 

(b)  Crofter  industries  of  Scotland. 

Music.     Co-operation  is  seen  in  this  lesson. 

Notes  make  harmony,  and  children  co-operate  in 
singing  them. 

All  should  respond  to  the  beat. 

In  two-  or  three-part  songs,   the  parts   all  work 
together  to  make  a  harmonious  whole. 

Song- — "  The  Working  Song." 

Reading.    From  Historical  Readers  on  history  previously 
taken. 

From  '*New  Reader."     Chapters  on  The  Beaver. 
From  *'  New  Reader."    Chapters  on  April  Flowers. 
Poems— ''The  Blue  Bonnets." 
''The  Three  Bells." 

Drill.     Exercises  from  Model  Course. 

Unity  of  action  attained  by  co-operation  of  children. 
Every  part  of  the  body  is  exercised  in  this  lesson. 
All  affect  the  whole  to  produce  vigour — health. 

Compositions,     i.  On  the  Thought,  "  Co-operation. " 

2.  On    the    character    chosen,     *'King 
Arthur." 
Oral  compositions  to  be  given  after  history,  geo- 
graphy, and  reading  lessons. 

Arithmetic.     Co-operation   is    shown   in  every  stage  of 
this  lesson. 

One  standard's  work  co-operates  with  another. 


CO-OPERATION  149 

Standard  II.  One  Week's  Work, 

CENTRAL    THOUGHT: 

Co-operation. 

Scripture. 

1.  Old  Testament  History.  David  and  Jonathan. 
Having"  seen  they  loved  each  other  and  made  a  cove- 
nant to  always  love  and  help  each  other,  Jonathan 
soon  had  an  opportunity  to  fulfil  his  promise.  He 
risked  his  father's  anger  in  his  efforts  to  reconcile 
Saul  and  David.  They  were  unavailing,  and  David 
fled,  helped  to  the  last  by  Jonathan.  They  loved,  and 
the  result  was  a  desire  to  help  each  other. 

2.  New  Testament.  Christ  and  His  disciples.  Christ 
the  Leader,  the  disciples  co-operating  to  do  His  will. 

Daily   Talks.     Ethical    teaching.     Refer   to   the    school 
motto  :  *'  Each  for  the  joy  of  the  working." 

When  we  all  work  together  we  say  we  are  co- 
operating". Each  has  to  work  for  and  with  the  other, 
and  then  as  we  sing  in  our  *'  Working  Song  " — 

"  All  working  together  make  one  perfect  light. 
The  robe  that  we  wear  will  be  white." 

Before  we  can  all  co-operate  we  shall  need  to 
master  many  dragons,  e.g.  selfishness,  greediness, 
thoughtlessness.  We  must  learn  to  ''have  goodwill 
to  all  that  lives,"  then  we  shall  be  able  to  show  others 
that  "helping  and  sharing  is  joy."  Co-operation 
brings  us  in  closer  touch  with  one  another.  It  makes 
us  practise  altruism  and  humility,  for  then — 

"  The  lofty  duties  and  the  lowly  meet." 

It  is  only  when  all,  working  for  the  same  end,  com- 
bine, that  the  result  is  harmony.  There  must  be 
perfect  co-operation  at  school  between  scholars  and 
teachers,  between  scholar  and  scholar.  At  home 
between  parents  and  children  and  between  brothers 
and  sisters. 


I50        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

The  body,  mind,  and  soul  must  all  work  together. 
If  one  is  fed  and  worked  and  another  neglected,  we 
know  how  soon  the  whole  suffers,  and  discord,  where 
harmony  should  be,  is  the  result.  We  are  not  likely 
to  forget  the  body,  so  Tennyson  only  reminds  us  to — 

"  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more. 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well. 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

Nature  affords  us  many  examples  of  co-operation. 
The  sun  helps  the  earth  to  ripen  the  buds  and,  later 
on,  the  seeds.  Each  part  of  tree  and  plant  co- 
operates in  this  work  of  nature,  as  Wordsworth 
says — 

"The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 
Their  fellowship  renew,"  etc. 

The  bird  co-operates  with  its  mate  in  making  the 
nest  and  rearing  the  young. 

Man  too,  co-operates,  and  societies  have  been 
formed  for  mutual  benefit  and  help.  One  country 
helps  another,  and  alliances  are  formed. 

Story.  The  farmer's  fields  were  in  great  need  of  rain. 
If  a  shower  did  not  come  soon  his  crops  would  be 
spoilt.  A  little  raindrop  noticed  the  farmer's  sadness 
and  felt  sorry  ;  she  said,  "  If  I  could  be  of  any  good 
I  would  go  and  help  him  ;  but  such  a  little  drop  as  I 
am  can  do  nothing."  Other  drops  came  along  and 
she  told  them  how  sad  the  farmer  was,  and  how  help- 
less she  felt.  They  all  agreed  to  join  together  and  get 
others  to  join  them,  and  all  go  together  to  help  the 
farmer.  They  did  so.  The  farmer  noticed  a  tiny 
cloud,  watched  it  with  a  joyful  face  get  bigger  and 
bigger,  until  when  a  splash  of  rain  fell  on  his  nose, 
his  heart  was  full  of  thankfulness,  for  he  knew  his 
crops  were  saved — all  through  the  determination  of 
the  little  drops  to  work  together  to  help  him. 


CO-OPERATION  151 

Reading-.  "The  Story  of  King  Arthur"  (intermediate 
series).  King*  Arthur  established  his  co-operative 
society — the  Order  of  the  Round  Table  — so  that  each 
might  derive  help  from  the  other  in  their  common  cause 
of  helping  mankind. 

Historical  Reader^  Book  III,  "The  Coming  of  the 
English." 

Writing.  Word-building— words  formed  from  "operate." 
Sentences  containing  these  words. 

Copy-setting — quotations  bearing  on  co-operation, 
e.g.  "  Have  goodwill  to  all  that  lives,"  etc. 

"The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems,"  etc. 

Compositions,      i.    How  the  Round  Table  began. 

2.  The  first  landing   of   the    English — 
how  it  illustrates  co-operation. 

Arithmetic.  Reduction  of  money.  Ascending  and  de- 
scending. Involves  multiplication  and  division — tables 
must  be  known  in  order  that  these  rules  may  be 
applied.  All  co-operate  in  obtaining  the  correct 
answer. 

Geography.  Cotton  industry  in  England.  Cotton  comes 
from  the  seeds  of  a  plant  grown  in  hot  countries 
only,  such  as  United  States,  Egypt,  and  India. 
Impossible  to  manufacture  all  there,  owing  to  lack 
of  coal,  iron,  and  water.  Co-operate  with  England, 
who  has  abundance  of  coal  and  water,  but  cannot 
grow  the  raw  cotton. 

Chief  centre  of  industry,  Lancashire  ;  port,  Liver- 
pool ;  towns  engaged,  Manchester,  Oldham,  Black- 
burn, Bury,  Bolton. 

Trace  the  dependence  of  one  branch  of  this  manu- 
facture on  another.  The  co-operation  of  the  workers, 
the  blending  of  the  threads,  all  result  in  the  perfect 
material  as  we  see  it. 

History.  "The  Coming  of  the  English."  The  settling 
of  the  English  on  British  soil  was  the  result  of  the 
co-operation  of  the  EngHsh  and  the  Britons  against 
the  Picts  and  Scots. 


152        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Nature  Study.  '*  Fertilization."  The  working  together 
of  the  stamens  and  pistils  ;  of  insects,  wind,  and 
flowers  in  the  carriage  of  the  pollen  to  the  stigma. 

Singing".       "Warriors  of  the  Golden  Cord." 
"Brothers  We." 
Band  of  Mercy  Hymn. 

All  emphasize  the  need  for  unity  in  our  work. 
Co-operation,  they  tell  us,  must  rule  our  lives,  if  we 
would  make  them  worthy  examples. 

Combined  staff"  and  tonic. 

Building  up  of  scales  with  one  flat  and  one  sharp. 
Co-operation  shows  here.  Both  notations  used— one 
to  aid  the  other.  Intervals  in  staff"  easier  to  under- 
stand if  co-operated  with  the  scale  in  the  tonic  sol-fa. 

Grammar.  A  sentence — its  principal  parts  and  their  work. 
A  sentence  is  a  thought  expressed  in  words.  Co- 
operation between  thought  and  speech  enables  us  to 
study  the  lives  and  thoughts  of  great  men.  Each 
part  of  a  sentence  has  its  own  particular  work,  e.g. 
the  predicate  shows  the  action — the  subject  is  the 
doer  of  the  action,  etc.  One  part  alone  conveys 
little  meaning  ;  the  united  whole  alone  expresses  the 
thought. 


THRIFT  153 


Standards  VI.  and  VII. 


CO-OPERATION    WORKED   OUT   IN 
DOMESTIC   ECONOMY 

Thrift. 

Meaning  of  the  Term. 

By  thrift  is  meant  ''economy,"  or  the  proper  use 
of  time,  labour,  and  money  without  any  waste.  Long 
experience  has  taught  that  the  best  way  of  securing 
economy  in  all  departments  of  life  is  by  means  of  co- 
operation. Thus  we  find  it  practised  in  the  home,  in 
business,  and  in  social  life  generally,  in  the  form  of 
Co-operative  Societies,  Friendly  Societies,  Savings 
Banks,  Trades  Unions,  etc. 

Co-operation  in  the  Home. 

If  there  is  to  be  harmony,  all  the  members  of  the 
household  must  work  together  for  the  good  of  all — 
this  is  co-operation. 

1.  Parents  consult  together  as  to  the  best  outlay  of 
their  income,  about  the  training  of  their  children,  and 
also  about  less  important  details — all  of  which  are 
the  better  for  the  consultations. 

As  Tennyson  says  in  The  Princess — 

"Two  heads  in  council,  two  beside  the  hearth. 
Two  in  the  liberal  offices  of  life." 

2.  Where  there  are  two  or  three  girls  at  home,  it 
is  economy  of  labour  and  time  if  the  work  is  so 
divided  that  each  does  the  part  best  suited  to  in- 
dividual taste  and  capacity.  One  gifted  with  the 
needle  should  do  the  sewing,  one  fond  of  cooking 
might  be  responsible  for  the  cooking,  and  so  on.  All 
are  working  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  house,  and 
there  is  co-operation  of  the  best  kind. 


154        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 
Co-operation  in  Social  Affairs. 

I.   Co-operative  Societies, 

(i)  Formation.  In  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  wages  of  men  were  very  low  and  the 
prices  of  food  were  exceedingly  high,  especially  in 
small  towns  and  villages.  There  were  no  longer 
cottage  industries  to  augment  incomes.  Child  labour 
was  very  common,  and  this  naturally  caused  the 
rate  of  wages  to  keep  low.  The  sufferings  of  the 
poor  caused  them  to  band  together  to  obtain  freedom 
of  some  sort. 

It  was  Robert  Owen  who  stimulated  the  people  to 
co-operate,  and  it  was  as  a  result  of  his  teaching 
that  the  first  Co-operative  Society  was  formed  at 
Rochdale  in  1844. 

The  Rochdale  pioneers  who  formed  this  co-operative 
society  consisted  of  a  few  weavers  who  put  together, 
in  small  sums,  a  capital  of  £,2%^  and  witli  it  they 
bought  necessary  articles  of  food,  as  flour,  meal, 
butter,  sugar,  etc. 

At  first  these  members  attended  at  nights  in  turn  to 
sell  the  groceries  to  each  other  at  cost  price.  The 
idea  of  thus  co-operating  has  so  spread,  that  now  co- 
operative societies  are  found  in  nearly  all  manufacturing 
districts,  and  these  stores  are  not  limited  to  provisions, 
but  extend  to  all  branches  of  trade,  and  also  include 
wholesale  buying  and  manufacturing  businesses. 

(2)  Aim  and  Result.  To  help  each  other  by  mutual 
co-operation,  and  to  promote  truthfulness  and  honesty 
in  business. 

{a)  By  providing  goods  in  the  purest  state  possible. 

{h)  By  doing  away  with  the  "middleman";  the 
consumers  get  any  profits  which  may  accrue. 

{c)  By  ensuring  proper  conditions  of  labour  and 
wages  for  those  who  are  engaged  in  the 
various  branches  of  business — thus  employer 
co-operates  with  employee  and  vice  versa. 


THRIFT  155 

As  a  result  the  conditions  of  working  class  are 
raised  by  their  own  mutual  efforts.  Ready-money 
payments  being  compulsory,  much  misery  caused  by 
accumulative  debts  is  avoided,  while  the  fact  that 
money  can  be  invested  by  members  encourages  thrifty 
saving. 

2.  Savings  Banks. 

Post  Office  Savings  Banks.  These  are  banks 
worked  in  connection  with  post  offices  and  are  under 
Government.  They  were  started  to  encourage  the 
poor  to  save  in  small  amounts — one  shilling  and  up- 
wards can  be  deposited  at  any  time— and  are  also 
a  result  of  co-operation. 

Yorkshire  Penny  Bank,  as  its  name  suggests,  is  a 
bank  with  branches  in  all  districts  in  Yorkshire,  and 
in  which  any  amount  from  a  penny  can  be  deposited. 
It  was  promoted  by  several  Yorkshire  gentlemen, 
who  co-operated  to  put  into  the  hands  of  the  poor 
a  means  of  saving  against  a  '*  rainy  day." 

3.  Friendly  Societies^  Sick  Cluhs^  etc. 

These  have  all  helped  to  improve  the  circumstances 
of  the  working  classes  in  times  of  sickness  and 
adversity.  They  are  self-supporting  — all  members 
contributing  a  certain  sum  at  fixed  periods  ;  and  in 
the  case  of  sickness,  a  member  is  allowed  a  certain 
allowance.  Thus  all  co-operate  to  provide  for  the 
needs  of  each  one. 


i:;6        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


BLACKBOARD   SUMMARY 

Thrift.     Meaning — proper  use  of  time,  labour,  and 
money,  etc. — without  waste. 

Where  co-operation  helps  thrift : — 

1.  In  the  home.    Co-operation  of  parents  in  making 

plans. 
Co-operation  in  household  work. 

2.  In  the  form  of — 

(i)  Co-operative  Societies.  First  society  formed 
in  1844  by  Rochdale  pioneers,  inspired  by 
Robert  Owen. 

Aim,     To  provide  goods  in  a  pure  state. 
To  do  away  with  *'  middleman." 
To  secure  proper  conditions   for  work- 
people. 

(2)  Savings  Banks.     Post  Office  Savings  Bank  and 

Yorkshire  Penny  Bank. 

Aim,  To  encourage  people  to  save  in  small 
amounts. 

(3)  Sick  Clubs,  Friendly  Societies,  etc. 

Aim,  Working  people  provide  for  themselves 
and  others  for  times  of  sickness  and 
distress. 


AMERICAN   WAR   OF    INDEPENDENCE      157 

CO-OPERATION 
ILLUSTRATED   THROUGH    HISTORY 

American  War  of  Independence. 

Introduction.  At  the  time  of  the  accession  of  George  III, 
there  were  thirteen  British  colonies  in  America,  stretch- 
ing" in  an  unbroken  line  from  Nova  Scotia  in  the  north 
to  Florida  in  the  south. 

The  four  New  England  states,  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode  Island, 
were  founded  by  Puritans  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
Of  the  three  middle  states,  two.  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  came  from  Dutch  into  English  possession,  and 
the  third,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  Quaker  colony,  founded 
by  William  Penn. 

There  were  six  southern  states,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia. 

Virginia  was  founded  by  Protestants  under  James  I, 
and  Maryland  by  Roman  Catholics  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  I. 

These  thirteen  states  were  very  varied  in  their 
religion  and  social  life. 

The  northern  states  were,  in  general,  of  a  demo- 
cratic, and  the  southern  of  an  aristocratic  spirit. 

The  states  had  little  or  no  intercourse  ;  a  governor 
and  officials  for  each  separate  state  were  appointed  by 
the  Crown. 

There  was  no  co-operation  at  all  for  the  good  of 
the  states  as  a  whole. 

Grievances  which  caused  the  war.  The  colonists 
wished  to  trade  with  the  French  and  Spanish  settle- 
ments, but  they  could  sell  their  productions  only  in 


158        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

British  dominions.  This  was  to  crush  all  rivalry  with 
England.  Then,  attempts  were  made  to  tax  the 
colonies. 

In  1765  a  Stamp  Act  was  passed.  This  meant  that 
every  legal  document,  to  be  valid,  had  to  be  written 
on  stamped  paper  brought  from  England. 

Englishmen  in  England  were  taxed  by  their  repre- 
sentatives in  Parliament ;  but  those  who  had  settled 
in  America  were  not  allowed  to  have  representatives, 
so  they  refused  to  be  taxed. 

The  Stamp  Act  was  so  unpopular  that  it  was  re- 
pealed, but  later  one  was  passed  which  taxed  tea. 


Events.  In  1773  ^^^  people  of  Boston  threw  into  the 
sea  the  tea  which  the  traders  were  about  to  land. 

In  1774  all  social  and  religious  differences  were 
sunk,  and  the  colonists,  for  the  first  time,  banded 
together  against  England. 

They  sent  deputies  to  a  congress  at  Philadelphia. 
This  congress  demanded  the  repeal  of  the  Acts  taxing 
the  colonies,  and  determined  that  all  colonists  should 
act  together  under  the  title  of  the  United  Colonies. 

They  saw  that  in  their  union  lay  their  strength. 
Each  state,  acting  separately,  would  have  been 
crushed  easily  ;  but  all  working  together,  they  were 
a  power  to  be  reckoned  with. 

They  raised  an  army,  and  appointed  George 
Washington  commander-in-chief.  He  showed  great 
resolution,  patience,  and  skill  in  training  his  motley 
army  to  co-operate  together. 

The  war  began. 

In  1775  there  were  two  skirmishes  at  Lexington 
and  Bunker's  Hill. 

In  1776  the  English  troops,  under  General  Howe, 
evacuated  Boston,  when  the  colonial  army  marched 
upon  them. 

4  July,  1776,  the  Congress  issued  a  Declaration  of 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


AMERICAN  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE       159 

In  1777  Washington  was  twice  defeated.  Then 
came  a  great  change.  A  British  army,  under  General 
Burgoyne,  had  to  surrender  to  the  American  troops 
at  Saratoga. 

This  was  the  turning-point  of  the  war.  France 
and  Spain  recognized  that  the  colonies,  all  working 
together,  had  good  prospects  of  gaining  their  inde- 
pendence, and  openly  helped  them. 

In  1781  Lord  Cornwallis,  who  had  tried  to  defeat 
the  American  army  in  the  southern  states,  and  was 
working  his  way  to  the  north,  had  to  surrender  to 
Washington  at  Yorktown.  This  brought  the  fighting 
to  a  close. 

In  1783,  at  the  Peace  of  Versailles,  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  was  acknowledged. 

George  Washington  was  elected  the  first  President 
of  the  United  States. 

Results.  From  the  time  of  the  union  of  these  states, 
the  development  of  wealth  —  agricultural,  mineral, 
and  manufacturing — has  been  unequalled. 

Previously  there  was  little  or  no  commercial  inter- 
course between  the  states.  Since  then,  the  interchange 
of  the  products  of  the  different  states  has  grown  to 
an  enormous  extent.  This  interchange  is  co-operation 
for  the  good  of  each  state,  and  for  the  good  of  the 
states  as  a  whole. 


i6o        CHARACTER   FORMING   IN   SCHOOL 


BLACKBOARD   SUMMARY 

In  the  reign  of  George  HI  were  thirteen  states. 

Grievances.     The  colonists   could  trade  with   only 
British  dominions. 
Taxation  without  representation. 

Events,      1774.     Congress  at  Philadelphia,  Union, 
for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  colonies. 
All     worked     under     one     leader, 
George  Washington. 

1  Evacuation  of  Boston. 


Result. 


1775- 
1776. 
4  July.  J  Declaration  of  Independence. 

1.  Unequalled  development  of  wealth. 

2.  Co-operation  for  the  first  time  for  the 

good  of  the  whole. 


FORMATION   OF   A   SENTENCE  i6i 


CO-OPERATION   SHOWN 

IN   THE 

FORMATION   OF  A   SENTENCE 

Introduction.  Commence  the  lesson  by  asking  children  to 
think  about  something.  Then,  by  questioning,  deduce 
that  no  one  can  tell  what  they  have  thought  about, 
unless  they  put  their  thoughts  into  words — forming  a 
sentence.  After  several  examples  have  been  given, 
children  will  supply  definition — 

"A  sentence  is  a  complete  thought  put  into  words 
to  make  sense." 

Now  we  will  find  out  something  about  these  sen- 
tences. 

Parts  of  a  Sentence. 

1.  In  all  the  sentences  given  there  was  something 
spoken  about,  e.g.  birds,  children,  flowers,  coal,  etc. 
A  name  is  given  to  this  part  of  the  sentence.  It  is 
called  the  subject^  and  it  is  one  of  the  two  main  parts 
of  a  sentence. 

2.  Now,  having  found  the  subjects,  we  must  say 
something  about  them. 

Using  those  given  by  children  we  get  the  words — 
fly,  learn,  grow,  burns. 

These  words  form  another  part  of  a  sentence  called 
the  ''telling  part  "  or  the  predicate. 

Now  putting  together  these  subjects  and  predicates. 

Do  the  sentences  they  form  sound  complete  and 
sensible?  Yes.  Therefore  we  see  that  these  two 
parts  are  necessary  in  every  sentence. 

3.  These  short  sentences  are  such  as  little  children 
use.  Now  we  will  build  up  a  longer  one.  We  will 
take  this  sentence  to  begin  with — 

"  The  bird  hurt  its  foot." 

What  is  the  subject? 

M 


i62        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

What  is  the  predicate  ? 

Would  the  sentence  sound  complete  if  I  said — The 
bird  hurt? 

Which  words  complete  the  action  ? 

We  can  enlarge  this  sentence  by  adding  other 
words  to  it. 

We  can  say — (a)  Something  about  the  bird,  and  so 
enlarge  the  subject. 
(b)  Something  about  where  the  foot 
was   hurt,   and  so  enlarge  the 
predicate. 

Ask  children  for  these,  and  build  up  the  long 
sentence  from  the  short  one  we  began  with — 

"The  little  bird  (flying  quickly  past  the  house)  hurt 
its  foot  (against  the  ivy-covered  wall)." 

The  added  parts  are  called  ''adjuncts"  of  the 
subject  and  predicate. 

So  we  see  that  the  parts  we  have  added  have  co- 
operated with  the  main  parts,  and  formed  a  longer 
sentence. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  words  can  co-operate,  as 
well  as  people,  when  used  properly. 

Exercise.     Let  children  give  sentences  with — 

(a)  Subject  and  predicate  only. 

(b)  Sentences    showing   words    co-operating    with 

subject. 

(c)  Sentences    showing   words    co-operating    with 

both  subject  and  predicate. 


FERTILIZATION  163 


Standard  III. 

CO-OPERATION    IN   NATURE 

Fertilization. 

Apparatus.  Provide  each  child  with  a  simple  flower  ;  pre- 
ferably one  with  only  one  pistil,  e.g.  wallflower.  The 
children  are  to  refer  to  their  flowers  as  the  lesson 
proceeds.  (They  are  not  to  be  dissected,  as  this  is 
contrary  to  the  teaching  of  the  school.  '*  They 
murder  to  dissect.") 

Refer  to  the  fields  in  spring  and  the  gardens  all 
through  the  summer,  one  mass  of  briUiant  flowers. 

From  previous  lessons  we  have  learnt  that  the  aim 
of  every  plant  is  to  make  seeds  from  which  new 
plants  can  be  obtained. 

Wordsworth's  quotation  on  the  blackboard  says — 
**The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 
Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root. 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 
In  every  fibre  true." 

Before  the  fruit  containing  the  seed  is  produced  we 
must  have  root,  stem,  leaves  and  flowers  ''all  work- 
ing together"  or  "co-operating."  The  root  and 
leaves  produce  food,  which  is  carried  by  the  stems  to 
the  flowers  which  bring  forth  the  fruit. 
"  All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone." 

Emerson. 
By  referring  to  our  flower  we  find  it  is  composed 
of  sepals,  petals,  stamens,  and  pistil. 

The  stamens  bear  the  pollen  ;  the  pistil  holds  the 
ovules  which  are  to  become  seeds. 

Now  tell  the  story  of  how  Mother  Nature  makes 
these  stamens  and  pistils  work  together. 


i64        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

The  end  of  the  pistil  or  stigma  is  usually  sticky,  so 
that  when  the  anthers  burst  and  release  the  pollen,  if 
any  falls  upon  the  stigma  it  is  retained  there. 

The  pollen  grains  now  begin  to  grow,  sending  out 
a  little  tube  (the  moisture  of  the  stigma  encouraging 
growth),  which,  on  passing  down  the  style,  enters 
an  ovule  in  the  ovary. 

This  gives  life  to  the  ovule,  making  it  into  a  young 
seed,  from  which,  when  ripe,  a  new  plant  can  be 
reared. 

Mother  Nature  wishes  to  help  all  she  can  to  make 
new  seeds.  She  is  not  content  with  just  hoping  the 
pollen  will  tumble  on  to  the  stigma.     She  helps — 

I.  By  Insects,  which  come  to  fetch  the  nectar  from 
the  flowers.  (Examine  the  flowers  to  see  where  the 
nectar  is  stored.) 

In  order  to  obtain  it,  the  insects  are  compelled,  on 
entering  the  flower,  to  brush  the  pollen  on  to  their 
bodies.  On  leaving  the  flower,  the  insects,  passing 
the  stigma,  leave  upon  it  some  of  the  pollen.  (Here 
the  story  of  either  the  wild  arum  or  the  snapdragon 
might  be  told.) 

Some  flowers  require  pollen  from  another  flower. 
This  is  carried  by  insects  ;  sometimes  by  gardeners 
by  means  of  a  brush.  (The  story  of  the  fuchsia  or 
other  pendent  flower  might  be  told.) 

The  flo-wers  co-operate  with  the  insects  by  attracting 
them — {a)  By  smell. 

(d)  By  bright  colours   and  stripes — white   or 
yellow  for  night  insects. 

This  "working  together"  of  insects  and  flowers 
explains  how  it  is,  directly  the  flowers  appear  in  the 
spring,  the  insects  venture  forth.  Refer  to  the  bees 
busy  among  the  crocuses  on  a  bright  sunny  day  in 
early  spring. 

There  are  some  trees  which  flower  long  before  the 
insects  dare  venture  out  from  their  winter's  sleep,  so 
they  have  neither  honey  nor  scent.     They  are  helped 


■petal 


stameTv 


—  ■pistil 


sepal 


fIL 


stigmxL 


anther 
(\l|   holding  poV^TV 


HU  ^ 


Stamen  (eniargedj 


styhe 


Ovary 
fwlding  ovules 


SECTfON  OF  P/ST/L 

(enlarged^) 


tabes  froTTt 
the.  pollen^ 


pollen  grains 
on  the  sUgrna^ 


Ovules 


i66        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

II.  By  THE  Wind.  It  shakes  the  tree,  scattering 
the  pollen  and  carrying  it  from  flower  to  flower. 

The  flowers  help  'the  windhy  keeping  back  their  leaves 
until  the  pollen  has  been  scattered. 

Refer  to  the  lines  in  "  The  Voices  of  Spring  " — 

*'  See  the  yellow  catkins  hanging,"  etc.. 

From  our  lesson  we  learn  all  the  diff'erent  parts  of 
plants,  working  with  the  insects  and  the  wind,  form 
for  us  perfect  seeds. 

*'  God  made  all  the  creatures  and  gave  them  our  love 
and  fear. 
To  give  sign,  we  and  they  are  His  children,  one 
family  here."  Browning. 


BLACKBOARD  SUMMARY 

(to  be  built  as  the  lesson  proceeds) 

The  pollen  fertilizes  the  ovules   and   makes   them 
grow  into  seeds. 

The  style,  being  sticky,  retains  any  pollen  scattered 
upon  it. 

Pollen  is  scattered  by — 

1.  The  opening  of  the  anthers. 

2.  The  insects. 

3.  The  wind. 

The  flowers  help — 

1.  The  insects^  by  attracting  them  by  {a)  Smell, 

{b)  Colour. 

2.  The  wind.,  by  keeping  back  the  leaves  until  the 
pollen  is  scattered. 


PHYSICAL   DRILL 


169 


Twenty  tninutes. 


Standard  IV. 


CO-OPERATION   TAUGHT   THROUGH 
PHYSICAL   DRILL 

Warriors  of  the  golden  cord  marching  on  together, 
Now  we  tramp  and  now  our  feet  rise  and  fall  together. 


EXERCISES. 


L  Forming  into  class. 


IL  Arm  flexions  and 
extensions. 

Arms  upward,  side- 
ways, and  downward, 
stretching  to  numbers. 

Left  arm  upward,  right 
arm  downward  stretch. 


in.    Balance      move- 
ments. 

Hips  firm,  heels  raise, 
knees  outward  bend. 

Arms  stretching  and 
bending  in,  knee  bend 
position. 


Necessity  of  order  and  some 
one  to  guide. 

Each  individual  must  co- 
operate with  her  fellows  so 
that  order  may  be  maintained. 

"All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothingisgoodorfair  alone." 

Heart  and  lungs— chief  or- 
gans. Working  arms  expand 
chest,  give  heart  and  lungs 
more  room  to  work,  i.e.  limbs 
co-operate  to  help  internal 
organs. 

Children  know  that  this 
exercise  requires  more  thought 
and  concentration.  Here  both 
sides  of  the  brain  are  needed 
to  work,  both  co-operate  in 
sending  messages  to  arms. 
Exercises  must  be  repeated 
more  than  once  in  order  that 
the  full  benefit  maybe  obtained. 

Here  wehave several  muscles 
brought  into  play,  chiefly  those 
of  the  trunk,  all  working  to- 
gether for  the  same  end.  Exer- 
cises in  balance  position  difficult, 
but  very  efficacious. 


I70        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


IV.  Shoulder  -  blade 
exercises. 

Arms  sideways  and 
upwards,  raising  in  two 
movements. 

Trunk  forward  bend, 
arms  forward  bend,  arms 
fling. 

V.  Trunk  exercises. 

Trunk  forward  and 
downward  bend. 

Trunk  sideways  bend. 

VI.  Marching. 
Quick  march. 
Tip-toe  march. 
Skipping-  step. 
Slow  step. 

Minuet — bow. 


Chest  fully  expanded — more 
air  can  enter  lungs,  thus  more 
oxygen  to  lungs  and  blood, 
which  is  made  purer,  and  makes 
body  healthier.  Thus  we  see 
how  it  needs  all  to  work  to- 
gether to  gain  desired  end. 


These  exercises  must  be  re- 
peated five  times.  All  muscles 
of  trunk  are  worked,  internal 
organs  are  moved,  and  freer 
play  given  to  body. 

Every  part  of  body  brought 
into  play  in  marching. 

With  co-operation  of  music, 
dancing  much  easier. 

All  parts  co-operate  to  make 
movements  pleasing  to  the  eye 
— eyes,  feet,  hands,  and  grace- 
ful bend  of  body. 


i  L  yl 

THE  COTTON  INDUSTRY  IN  ENGLAND     173 


Standard  II.  Last  Quarter, 

CO-OPERATION 

SHOWN    IN   THE    COTTON    INDUSTRY 

IN   ENGLAND 

Introduction.  Many  articles  of  clothing-  are  made  from 
cotton.  Refer  to  child's  pinafore,  etc.  ;  all  made  from 
cotton,  although  known  under  various  names. 

What  cotton  is  and  from  whence  it  comes.  Cotton 
grows  on  a  plant  in  the  pod  which  bears  the  seeds. 
Cotton  will  not  grow  in  England,  but  requires  a  hot 
country  ;  therefore  if  we  were  not  friendly  with  the 
people  of  hot  countries  such  as  United  States  of 
America,  Egypt,  and  India,  we  should  not  be  able  to 
get  any  of  the  raw  cotton.  We  must,  therefore,  co- 
operate with  these  people.  The  plant  needs  very 
careful  cultivation.  The  pods  are  picked,  the  down 
separated,  packed  up,  and  sent  to  our  country.  Show 
a  picture  of  a  cotton  plant  and  sketch  a  ripe  pod. 
This  is  not  ready  yet  to  be  made  into  our  clothing, 
but  the  people  in  the  hot  climate  cannot  do  any  more 
towards  it.  Other  people  must  co-operate  with  them, 
in  order  to  produce  the  finished  goods.  We  in 
England  do  so,  and  the  bales  of  raw  cotton  are  sent 
to  England  to  be  manufactured. 

Where  manufactured  and  suitability  of  locality.    The 

Lancashire  and  Cheshire  coalfield  is  the  home  of  the 
cotton  industry.  Coal  and  a  great  amount  of  water 
are  necessary  in  the  manufacture,  and  there  is  a  good 
supply  of  both  in  this  locality.  Thousands  of  men 
are  employed,  not  in  actually  manufacturing  the  cotton 
alone,  but  in  helping  towards  that  end.  Coal  mining, 
.  iron  smelting,  making  machinery,  etc.,  are  industries 
which  must  be  carried  on  in  order  that  the  cotton  can 
be  manufactured,  and  thus  men  in  all  these  employ- 
ments co-operate  in  the  making  of  our  pinafores. 


174        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Liverpool  is  a  convenient  port  for  the  landing  of 
the  raw  cotton  and  also  for  sending  off  the  manu- 
factured goods. 

Towns  engaged  in  the  manufacture.  Manchester  is 
a  very  large  town  with  large  mills  and  warehouses 
in  the  cotton  trade.  How  many  tb-ousands  of 
people  here  alone  would  be  without  work,  if  our  co- 
operation with  the  cotton-producing  countries  should 
cease  ! 

Other  towns  engaged  in  the  cotton  manufacture 
are  Oldham,  Bolton,  Bury,  Rochdale,  and  Stockport. 

Recapitulation.  .Question  on  chief  points  connected  with 
cotton  industry  and  chief  towns  engaged  in  the 
manufacture. 


CO-OPERATION  175 

Standard  VII.     17  December,  1906. 

Edith  Blakemore. 

Age  tivelve  years, 

CO-OPERATION 

The  word  *'  co-operation  "  is  made  up  of  two  Latin  words 
— "co,"  meaning  together;  and  ''opus,"  meaning  work. 
Thus  co-operation  means  working  together.  We  cannot 
work  together  unless  we  have  one  aim,  because  if  we  have 
not  we  shall  hinder  each  other.  The  aim  of  every  one 
ought  to  be  to  help  each  other,  and  if  every  one  worked 
with  that  aim  they  would  be  gaining  help  for  themselves. 

The  result  of  co-operation  is  harmony.  If  everybody 
co-operated,  there  would  be  harmony  all  over  the  world. 
Tennyson  says  harmony  follows  co-operation  in  these 
lines — 

*'  When  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land  ?  " 

We  find  co-operation  in  nature,  in  plant  life,  and  among 
the  animals.  These  lines  show  how  the  plants  co- 
operate— 

*'  The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems. 
Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root, 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 
In  every  fibre  true." 

The  bees  especially  show  co-operation.  They  choose  a 
queen,  and  they  all  work  together  loyally  under  her  and 
for  her  good.     Shakespeare  says — 

**  So  work  the  honey  bees. 
Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature,  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

They  are  an  example  of  the  good  of  co-operating. 

*'The   colours    all    working   together    make    one    perfect 
light." 


176        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

There  should  be  universal  brotherhood  amongf  our- 
selves. If  there  is,  we  shall  all  be  practising  altruism, 
and  therefore  we  shall  all  be  happy,  because  helping 
others  gives  pleasure  to  ourselves.  Before  we  can  co- 
operate with  others  we  must  have  co-operation  in  our- 
selves. Our  mind  and  soul  must  work  together,  as 
Tennyson  says — 

**  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more. 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

Our  history  lesson  this  week  is,  **The  American  War 
of  Independence."  It  teaches  co-operation.  The  colonists 
knew  that  if  each  state  fought  separately  they  would  all 
be  beaten,  so  they  all  banded  together  and  showed  that 
**  Union  is  Strength."  The  best  way  to  be  thrifty  is  to 
co-operate.  Each  one  ought  to  do  the  work  he  can  do 
best.  There  is  an  old  story  about  a  man  who  was  dying 
and  he  wanted  to  share  his  possessions  among  his  sons. 
He  gave  his  lands  to  one,  his  money  to  another,  and  his 
horse  to  another,  and  so  on.  He  said,  ''  I  do  not  want 
each  one  to  take  away  his  own  part,  because  one  will  be 
no  good  without  the  other."  To  illustrate  this,  he  sent  for 
a  bundle  of  faggots,  and  taking  two  or  three  sticks 
separately  he  broke  them.  Then  putting  them  all  to- 
gether he  tried  to  break  them,  but  he  could  not.  *'  Thus," 
he  said,  "  I  want  you  to  keep  together,  and  then  you  will 
be  much  stronger  than  otherwise  you  would  be."  The 
co-operative  societies  now  found  all  over  England  are  the 
result  of  men  banding  together  to  work  for  the  common 
good. 


CO-OPERATION  177 


Standard  V. 

Gertrude  Aldham. 

Age  eleven  years. 

CO-OPERATION 

This  week  we  have  been  learning  the  following  lines  by 
Wordsworth  : — 

*'The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems, 

Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root, 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres . 

In  every  fibre  true." 

These  lines  show  how  the  single  parts  of  a  plant  co- 
operate to  make  the  perfect  plant.  Besides  co-operating 
in  a  single  plant,  nature  co-operates  in  every  way.  The 
sun  comes  out  at  the  proper  time,  the  dew  and  rain  come 
to  refresh  the  flowers,  and  the  darkness  falls  at  a  regular 
time  to  give  flowers  and  human  beings  rest.  We  can 
take  a  lesson  from  nature  and  co-operate  with  each  other. 
We  all  need  each  other,  however  independent  we  may  be. 
If  there  were  no  postmen  to  bring  our  letters,  we  should 
never  receive  them.  No  one  could  write  letters  if  some 
one  did  not  make  paper,  pens,  and  ink.  Emerson  knew 
our  need  for  each  other.      He  said — 

"  All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone." 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  so  many  co-operative  societies 
have  been  formed.  Instead  of  one  man  getting  the  profits, 
they  are  shared  among  all  the  members.  We  co-operate  in 
school.  The  teacher  helps  the  scholars  and  the  children 
help  the  teachers.  Froebel  showed  teachers  the  value  of 
co-operating  in  school.  He  said,  ^'Let  us  live  with  our 
children." 

He  was  fond  of  children  and  called  his  school  the 
**  Children's  Garden." 


178        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

The  different  colours  co-operate  to  make  a  perfect  white. 
We  have  a  song  that  tells  that  if  we  work  together  we 
shall  be  like  the  colours,  and  have  pure  characters  like 
the  pure  white  light. 

Before  the  American  War  of  Independence  all  the  states 
were  formed  of  different  characters.  Some  were  merry- 
making cavaliers,  others  were  solemn  Puritans,  some 
were  strict  Roman  Catholics,  and  others  were  Quakers. 
Separate,  they  could  have  done  nothing  against  England. 
United  under  George  Washington,  they  became  one 
nation  under  the  title  of  United  States  of  America,  and 
gained  the  right  to  trade  with  whom  they  pleased,  and  to 
form  their  own  laws. 


1 


CO-OPERATION  179 


Standard  VI.      17  December. 

Irene  Westcott. 

Age  tivelve  years. 

CO-OPERATION 

The  meaning  of  co-operation  is  a  working  together  for 
one  aim.  We  have  to  work  for  the  good  of  all.  Emerson 
says — 

**  All  are  needed  by  each  one  : 
Nothing  is  good  or  fair  alone." 

Unless  we  co-operate  there  will  be  no  harmony  in  the 
land.  Tennyson  gives  the  end  for  which  we  should  all 
work  in  these  lines — 

"  Ah  !  when  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land?  " 

We  always  find  co-operation  in  nature.  In  plant  life 
the  rock,  root,  stems,  and  flowers  all  co-operate  to  make 
a  perfect  plant,  as  Wordsworth  says  in  this  quotation — 

**  The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems. 

Their  fellowship  renew ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root, 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 

In  every  fibre  true." 

Co-operation  is  always  found  in  a  hive.  The  bees  do 
the  diff"erent  work  in  turns.  When  the  bee  that  is  fanning 
the  queen  bee  is  tired,  then  it  will  change  its  work  with 
some  other  bee.  They  all  work  together  for  the  good  of 
the  hive  and  the  queen.     Shakespeare  says — 

*'  So  work  the  honey  bees. 
Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature,  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 


i8o        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Colours  co-operate  to  make  light.  The  following-  quota- 
tion illustrates  this,  '*  All  working  together  makes  one 
perfect  light." 

Our  history  lesson,  which  was  on  the  American  War  of 
Independence,  is  a  really  good  illustration  of  our  thought. 
There  were  thirteen  states  in  America  which  were  occu- 
pied by  colonists.  There  had  been  some  trouble  between 
these  colonists  and  the  English  for  a  long  time.  George 
Washington  knew  the  colonists  would  be  defeated  if  each 
state  fought  separately  against  the  English,  so  the 
colonists  united  together  and  called  their  country  the 
United  States  of  America.  It  is  said  that  "Unity  is 
Strength."  If  we  want  to  be  thrifty  we  must  co-operate. 
About  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  country 
was  in  a  dreadful  condition  ;  wages  were  very  low,  and  the 
prices  of  goods  were  very  high.  A  man  named  Robert 
Owen  got  some  of  the  poorer  class  to  band  together  and 
formed  a  society  to  buy  provisions  at  wholesale  prices  and 
sell  them  as  cheap  and  as  pure  as  possible. 

This  was  the  first  co-operative  society  and  was  formed 
in  the  year  1844. 


CO-OPERATION  i8i 


Standard  IV, 

Edith  Webb. 

CO-OPERATION 

Co-operation  is  the  thought  we  are  practising  this  week. 
It  means  working  with  others.  There  ought  to  be  co- 
operation in  our  homes  and  schools.  We  shall  most  likely 
be  successful  if  we  co-operate.  Things  in  nature  co- 
operate ;  the  wind  does  when  it  scatters  seeds,  and  the 
rain  and  sunshine  do  when  they  nourish  the  trees  and 
flowers.  This  poem  of  Wordsworth's  shows  co-operation 
in  nature— 

"The  flowers,  still  faithful  to  the  stems. 
Their  fellowship  renew  ; 
The  stems  are  faithful  to  the  root, 

That  worketh  out  of  view  ; 
And  to  the  rock  the  root  adheres 
In  every  fibre  true." 

There  is  co-operation  in  animal  life  — even  the  bees  co- 
operate ;  one  bee  couldn't  fill  a  hive  with  honey  itself, 
all  the  bees  have  to  co-operate  before  the  hive  is  full. 
Shakespeare  tells  us  in  the  following  lines  that  a  lesson  of 
co-operation  is  shown  to  us  by  the  bees  — 

"  So  work  the  honey  bees, 
Creatures  that  by  a  rule  in  nature,  teach 
The  act  of  order  to  a  peopled  kingdom." 

King  Arthur's  knights  had  co-operation  when  they  went 
to  seek  for  the  Holy  Grail.  Even  the  letters  of  the  alpha- 
bet co-operate  when  they  make  words,  and  the  words  when 
they  make  sentences.  The  grains  of  sand  must  co-operate 
to  make  land,  and  the  drops  of  water  to  make  the  sea. 
This  song  shows  it  — 

"  Little  drops  of  water. 
Little  grains  of  sand. 
Make  the  mighty  ocean 
And  the  beauteous  land." 


i82        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

There  ought  to  be  co-operation  in  the  army  and  navy, 
for  if  there  were  not  and  they  were  at  war,  they  would  be 
sure  to  lose.  This  story  shows  how  some  raindrops  had 
co-operation.  It  was  a  very  hot  day  and  a  farmer  was 
standing"  in  a  field  of  corn  looking  very  miserable.  "  I 
wish  rain  would  come,"  he  sighed,  because  his  corn  was 
bending  and  looking  thin.  Up  in  the  sky  a  raindrop 
heard  him  and  resolved  to  go  down  and  water  his  corn. 
But,  thought  the  raindrop,  I  cannot  water  all  that  corn. 
So  it  went  and  asked  some  other  raindrops  to  come  down 
with  it.  The  next  morning  the  farmer  went  to  look  at  the 
corn  again  and  to  see  if  any  rain  was  coming,  and  while 
he  was  looking  up,  a  little  raindrop  fell  on  his  nose.  It 
was  the  same  raindrop  that  had  asked  the  others  to  join 
it ;  then  all  the  others  came  down  and  watered  all  the  corn. 
So  we  see  what  a  lot  of  good  we  can  do  if  we  co-operate. 
Above  all,  our  mind  and  soul  have  to  co-operate.  If  they 
do,  we  shall  be  in  harmony. 


CO-OPERATION  183 


Standard  III.     1 2  December. 

Lois  Watkin. 

We  have  been  talking  about  how  nature  puts  life  into 
the  seeds. 

The  pollen  from  the  stamens  must  grow  down  into  the 
ovules.  When  an  insect  goes  in  the  flower  for  the  nectar, 
some  of  the  pollen  sticks  onto  its  body,  and  it  on  leaving 
goes  past  the  pistil  and  some  pollen  grains  are  left  on  the 
sticky  stigma.  The  flowers  attract  the  insects  by  their 
bright  colours  and  sweet  smell.  The  wind  helps  the 
flowers  to  scatter  the  pollen.  Some  trees  cannot  wait  for 
the  insects  waking  from  their  winter  sleep,  so  they  ask 
the  wind  to  help  them.  The  wind  blows  the  pollen  onto 
the  stigma.  The  trees  help  the  wind  by  not  having  their 
leaves  until  the  poUen  is  scattered.  Our  lesson  shows  us 
how  the  flowers,  insects,  wind  all  co-operate  to  put  life 
into  the  seeds. 


Standard  II. 

Ida  Thompson. 

Age  eight  years. 

Co-operation  means  helping  and  sharing.  It  helps  us 
to  kill  some  of  our  dragons,  such  as  selfishness  and 
greediness.  We  are  having  a  Band  of  Mercy  this  after- 
noon. We  all  say  our  pledge  and  take  hold  of  hands  to 
show  that  we  are  going  to  help  each  other  to  keep  it. 
King  Arthur  wanted  his  knights  to  co-operate,  so  he  made 
them  all  promise  to  join  together  in  trying  to  help  others. 
We  know  a  story  which  shows  us  co-operation.  It  is 
about  one  raindrop  getting  others  to  fall  to  the  earth  with 
him  and  make  a  shower,  so  that  the  farmer's  fields  would 
be  watered  and  the  farmer  would  be  happy. 


or  \ 


1 


TEMPERANCE 

Ah  !  little  recks  the  labourer, 

How  near  his  work  is  holding  him  to  God, 

The  loving  labourer  in  space  and  time." 


TEMPERANCE  189 

Stafidard  VI.  One  Week's  Work. 

CENTRAL   THOUGHT: 

Temperance. 

**  Not  only  to  keep  down  the  base  in  man, 
But  teach  hig-h  thoughts  and  amiable  words, 
And  courtliness." 

Daily    Talks.     Temperance    is  moderation.     We    must 
be  temperate  in  our  thoughts. 

This  is  most  important,  because  our  every  word 
and  action  depend  on  and  result  from  thoughts. 
Whether  we  eat  or  drink,  work  or  play,  a  thought 
has  caused  that  action.  Shakespeare  knew  this. 
He  said — 

*'  There's  nothing  either  good  or  bad. 
But  thinking-  makes  it  so." 

Wordsworth  calls  thoughts  "silent  laws."  He 
says — 

''  Some  silent  laws  our  hearts  will  make, 

Which  they  shall  long  obey  ; 
We  for  the  year  to  come 

May  take  our  temper  from  to-day  ; 
And  from  the  blessed  power  that  rolls 

About,  below,  above, 
We'll  frame  the  measure  of  our  souls. 

They  shall  be  tuned  to  love." 

Tennyson,  in  his  **  Idylls  of  the  King,"  wrote  the 
story  of  King  Arthur  and  his  band  of  brave  knights. 
They  all  made  a  promise  that  they  would  be  temperate 
in  thoughts  and  speech  and  actions.  This  was  their 
promise — 

"  Not  only  to  keep  down  the  base  in  man. 
But  teach  high  thoughts  and  amiable  words. 
And  courtliness." 


I90        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

They  also  promised  to  be  temperate  in  speech  in 
these  words — 

"  To  speak  no  slander,  no,  nor  listen  to  it ; 
To  honour  his  own  word  as  if  it  were  God's." 

Of  all  the  knights,  and  they  were  the  bravest  of 
the  brave,  only  one  succeeded  in  keeping  his  vow. 
This  was  Sir  Galahad,  who  had  pure  thoughts  only. 
Tennyson  describes  him  thus  — 

"  My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten. 
Because  my  heart  is  pure." 

Sir  Bedivere,  the  last  of  the  knights,  who  was  with 
King  Arthur  at  the  end,  had  to  fight  against  the 
intemperate  thought,  covetousness.  King  Arthur  had 
twice  commanded  him  to  throw  into  the  lake  his 
famous  sword,  Excalibur.  Twice  Sir  Bedivere  dis- 
obeyed him.  The  third  time,  to  keep  back  the 
covetous  thought,  he  had  to  close  his  eyes,  'Mest  the 
gems  should  blind  his  purpose."  Then  he  conquered 
his  desire. 

We  can  follow  the  example  of  the  knights  of  King 
Arthur,  and  try  to  have  pure  thoughts  only,  that 
spring  from  the  higher  self.  If  we  do  not  admit  any 
impure  thoughts,  then  we  shall  be  true  to  our  higher 
self.  In  the  play  *' Hamlet,"  Polonius  gives  to  his 
son  Laertes,  from  whom  he  is  parting  for  a  long 
time,  some  advice. 

He  says  his  son  must  not  desert  his  true  friends  ; 
he  must  not  quarrel  readily  ;  but  if  he  must  fight,  be 
brave.  He  must  dress  according  to  his  rank  ;  he 
must  neither  borrow  nor  lend  ;  then  above  all  this, 
he  must  be  true  to  his  higher  self.     He  says — 

'*This,  above  all,  to  thine  own  self  be  true  ; 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day. 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

Scripture.  Last  six  Commandments  teach  temperance 
in  thoughts.  Christ  said,  "  Whoso  hateth  his 
brother "  has  broken  the  sixth  Commandment,  for 
he  has  murdered  him  in  his  heart. 


TEMPERANCE  191 

History.     Reig-n  of  Anne. 

Life  of  Marlborough — his  great  successes  in  the 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession — Blenheim,  Ramillies, 
Oudenarde,  Malplaquet. 

Though  he  conquered  the  intemperate  thought 
fear,  he  had  others:  avarice,  selfishness  —  which, 
unlike  Sir  Bedivere,  he  did  not  conquer. 

Geography.  Holland  —  physical  features,  industries, 
people,  and  towns. 

Temperance  a  characteristic  of  the  Dutch.  "The 
Dutchman  is  slow  in  promising,  but  he  always  keeps 
his  promise." 

Their  temperate  character  has  been  determined  by 
the  long  struggle  against  the  Spaniards,  and  their 
perpetual  struggle  against  water. 

Reading".  Account  of  Marlborough,  from  Warwick 
History  Readers,  pp.  20-32. 

Story  of  Sir  Bedivere,  from  Longmans'  New  Supple- 
mentary Readers,  "Tales  of  the  Round  Table," 
pp.  151-60. 

Writing.     Essay  on  "  The  Dutch." 
Account  of  Marlborough. 
Essay  on  Temperance. 
The  Story  of  Sir  Bedivere. 

Grammar.  Formation  of  sentences  containing  words 
temper,  temperance  ;  intemperate,  intemperance  ; 
showing  how  used — example  :  to  he  temperate  ; 

to  have  temperance. 

Domestic  Economy.     Temperance. 

Usual  meaning,  ' '  Abstinence  from  alcoholic  drinks. " 
Action  of  alcohol  o;i  food  and  on  blood.  Evil  of 
drunkenness.  From  what  intemperance  in  drink 
springs — intemperance  in  thoughts.  Whether  we  eat, 
drink,  work,  or  play,  a  thought  has  preceded  that 
action.  These  actions  will  be  temperate  or  intem- 
perate, as  our  thoughts  are. 


192        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Standard  VII. 

Bertha  Stott. 

Age  thirteen,  half-timer. 

TEMPERANCE 

Temperance  means  moderation,  or  to  be  evenly  balanced. 
Self-control  is  another  word  for  temperance. 

We  must  be  temperate  in  our  thoughts,  words,  and 
actions,  also  in  eating"  and  drinking.  If  we  eat  too  much 
we  shall  have  indigestion,  and  if  we  eat  too  little  we  shall 
be  ill.  If  we  drink  too  much  tea  it  will  harden  the  inside 
of  our  stomach.  Drinking  beverages  with  alcohol  in 
them  poisons  the  blood  and  weakens  the  brain.  There  is 
temperance  in  work  and  play.  We  must  do  our  work  first, 
and  then  we  shall  have  earned  our  play.  We  must  be 
very  careful  about  our  speech.  To  keep  us  from  speaking 
harshly  we  must  put  a  curb  on  our  tongue.  "A  soft 
answer  turneth  away  wrath."  The  most  important  things 
that  we  have  to  be  temperate  in  are  our  thoughts.  They 
are  the  most  important  because  thoughts  lead  to  actions. 
"  There  is  nothing  either  good  or  bad,  but  thinking  makes 
it  so." 

If  we  are  temperate  in  all  these  things  we  shall  know 
what  it  is  to  keep  within  bounds,  not  to  go  to  extremes, 
and  to  have  moderation. 

For  examples,  we  could  take  the  Puritans  and  the 
Stuarts.  The  Puritans  thought  too  little  of  pleasure,  and 
they  thought  it  was  wrong  for  a  child  to  look  at  a  picture- 
book  on  Sunday.  The  Stuarts  were  just  the  opposite. 
They  went  to  extremes  with  pleasure.  They  thought  too 
much  about  it. 


TEMPERANCE  193 


Ada  Highley. 

Age  t7velve. 


TEMPERANCE 


Temperance  is  our  thought  for  this  week. 

It  means  moderation,  or  keeping  within  bounds,  or 
equally  balanced,  and  another  name  for  temperance  is 
self-control.  We  have  to  be  temperate  in  our  thoughts, 
words,  and  actions.  We  have  to  be  temperate  in  eating 
and  drinking,  because  if  we  eat  too  much  we  shall  have 
indigestion,  and  the  people  who  eat  too  much  are  gluttons, 
and  drinking  too  much  is  just  as  bad  as  eating  too  much. 
It  is  still  worse  to  take  too  much  of  the  beverages  which 
contain  alcohol.  Alcohol  poisons  the  blood  and  weakens 
the  brain.  We  have  also  to  be  temperate  in  work  and 
play,  because  if  we  work  and  do  not  play  our  brains  will 
be  dull  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  do  some  of  the  best 
work  which  is  set  before  us.  We  need  exercise  and  fresh 
air,  and  that  is  why  we  have  to  go  out  and  play.  There 
is  a  saying — 

''  All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy. 
All  play  and  no  work  makes  Jack  a  trifling  toy." 

We  have  to  be  temperate  in  our  speech,  because  some- 
times we  come  out  with  nasty  words  and  talk  when  we 
should  not  talk,  and  this  is  not  putting  a  curb  on  our 
tongue. 

It  is  most  important  to  control  our  thoughts  or  to  be 
temperate  in  our  thoughts,  which  lead  to  actions  and 
speech.     Shakespeare  says — 

"  There  is  nothing  either  good  or  bad. 
But  thinking  makes  it  so." 

The  result  of  this  is,  if  everybody  was  temperate  there 
would  be  harmony  in  the  world.  The  Stuarts  show  us  a 
very  bad  example  of  intemperance,  for  they  wanted  too 
much  pleasure. 

The  Puritans  were  just  the  opposite,  for  they  always 
o 


194        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

wanted  to  be  working,  and  they  did  not  believe  in  pleasure. 
Sir  Galahad  is  an  example  of  one  who  had  temperance. 
Indeed,  all  the  Knights  of  the  Round  Table  had  to  take 
a  vow,  and  this  is  it — 

'*  Not  only  to  keep  down  the  base  in  man, 
But  to  teach  high  thoughts,  amiable  words. 
And  courtliness." 

We  have  to  use  God*s  gifts,  one  and  all,  wisely  and 
well. 

Last  Sunday  was  Temperance  Sunday.  In  the  churches 
and  chapels  sermons  were  preached  on  drink,  urging 
people  to  abstain  from  intoxicating  drinks.  The  ministers 
were  saying  how  dangerous  it  was  to  be  intemperate  in 
drink. 


TEMPERANCE  195 


May  Dennis. 

Age  twelve. 


TEMPERANCE 


We  generally  use  the  word  temperance  as  meaning 
abstinence  from  drinking  alcoholic  liquors.  Alcohol  is  a 
poisonous  liquor  that  will  deaden  the  will.  The  result  of 
this  is  drunkenness.  Temperance  societies  have  been 
formed  by  people  to  put  down  this  evil.  I  am  a  member 
of  one,  and  we  make  a  pledge  or  promise  that  we  will  not 
drink  any  intoxicating  drink.  We  try  to  persuade  others 
to  join  and  make  the  same  promise. 

Intemperance  in  drink  is  a  great  evil,  but  intemperance 
in  thoughts  is  greater.  All  our  actions — eating,  drinking, 
work,  and  pliay — must  have  a  thought  at  the  back  of  them. 
So  these  actions  will  be  temperate  or  intemperate,  as  our 
thoughts  are.     Shakespeare  said  this  in  these  lines — 

*'  There's  nothing  either  good  or  bad, 
But  thinking  makes  it  so." 

Some  people  think  a  great  deal  about  getting  know- 
ledge, and  they  try  to  get  all  they  can.  They  spend 
almost  all  their  time  getting  more  and  more  knowledge, 
and  they  neglect  nearly  all  other  things  but  this. 

This  is  not  what  we  have  to  do.  We  have  not  only  to 
look  after  the  mind,  but  we  have  to  look  after  the  soul  and 
also  the  body.  If  we  do  not  look  after  the  body  we  shall 
have  bad  health.  We  must  not,  however,  think  too  much 
of  the  body.  If  we  think  too  much  about  eating  and 
drinking  we  shall  be  wanting  to  do  nothing  but  eat, 
and  our  lives  will  be  useless.  Some  people  think  about 
nothing  but  their  soul.  They  think  if  they  go  away  and 
live  by  themselves,  they  are  good.  This  is  not  the  way  to 
act.  We  ought  to  go  amongst  people  and  try  to  make 
them  good  as  well. 


196        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Elsie  Baines. 

A^e  ten. 

TEMPERANCE 

We  are  practising  temperance.  Two  other  words  which 
mean  the  same  are — moderation  and  self-control.  People 
should  be  temperate  in  all  things — in  pleasure,  dress,  eat- 
ing, drinking,  and  talking. 

The  tongue  can  make  a  lot  of  mischief.  In  beer,  wine, 
and  spirits,  there  is  something  called  alcohol.  This 
poisons  the  blood  and  ruins  the  health.  Also  the  minds 
become  dull  and  unfitted  for  work.  We  can  practise 
temperance  in  our  school  by  having  self-control  over  eyes, 
tongues,  and  fingers. 

Having  no  control  over  our  fingers  leads  to  stealing, 
and  the  eighth  Commandment  is  broken.  We  have 
examples  in  King  Arthur's  knights,  who  had  to  keep  this 
vow — 

''  Not  only  to  keep  down  the  base  in  man, 
But  teach  high  thoughts,  amiable  words, 
And  courtliness." 

Other  lines  of  poetry  to  illustrate  this,  written  by 
Tennyson,  are — 

*'  To  speak  no  slander,  no,  nor  listen  to  it ; 
To  honour  his  own  word  as  if  it  were  God's." 

This  teaches  temperance  in  words — to  be  careful  what 
we  say  about  other  people.  The  ninth  Commandment 
illustrates  this.  On  Monday  we  were  told  about  a  race 
of  people  called  the  Spartans,  who  once  lived  in  Greece. 
They  were  very  brave  and  temperate  people.  Then  in 
the  history  of  Wales  we  read  about  a  prince  named 
Llewellyn,  who  killed  his  favourite  dog  Gelert  in  a  fit  of 
temper.  We  had  a  poem  read  to  us  about  this.  He  had 
no  self-control,  but  afterwards  was  greatly  ashamed  of 
himself. 

So  we  see  that  intemperance  in  anything  causes  much 
trouble  and  unhappiness,  not  only  to  one  person,  but  to 
many. 


HARMONY 

No  one  can  acquire  for  another — not  one  ; 
No  one  can  grow  for  another — not  one. 
The  song-  is  to  the  singer,  and  comes  back  most  to  him  ; 
The  teaching  is  to  the  teacher^  and  comes  back  most  to  him." 

Walt  Whitman. 


or  THE     "*^    ^ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

i^UFORNAJ 


HARMONY  199 


Standard  VII. 

HARMONY 

Extracts  frojyi  poems  already  learnt. 

**  Let  knowledg^e  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell  ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well. 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

Tennyson's  In  Memoriam. 

*'  While  with  an  eye  made  quiet  by  the  power 
Of  harmony,  and  the  deep  power  of  joy. 
We  see  into  the  life  of  things." 

Wordsworth's  Tintern  Abbey. 

*'  Ah  !  when  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land?  " 

Tennyson's  Golden  Year. 
Read  to  children  ''Orpheus  and  his  Lute"  (Shakespeare). 

Daily  Talks.  Ethical  teaching.  Harmony  is  a  blending 
together  to  make  one  perfect  whole.  When  all  work 
"for  the  joy  of  the  working"  there  will  be  a  single- 
ness of  purpose,  and  that  purpose  should  be  as 
Tennyson  says,  for  "each  man's  good." 

Harmony  in  ourselves  is  the  result  of  each  part  of 
us  being  cultivated  in  a  right  proportion — 

"  That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

The  three  parts  of  us  which  require  food  are — 

i.  The  Body — food,  light,  air. 

ii.  The  Mind — knowledge, 
iii.  The  Soul — reverence. 


200        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

Our  parents  feed  the  body  ;  the  mind  is  fed  at 
school  with  reading  and  thoughts  ;  but  only  ourselves 
can  g-ive  food  to  the  soul.     Wordsworth  says — 

*'  We'll  frame  the  measure  of  our  souls, 
They  shall  be  tuned  to  love." 

By  the  discovery  of  steam,  electricity,  etc.,  man 
has  become  master  of  great  powers  ;  but  still  he  has 
within  himself  a  greater  power  than  these — harmony, 
which  Wordsworth  says,  if  combined  with  the  power 
of  joy,  will  make  one  see  '*  into  the  life  of  things." 

Tennyson  gives  us  an  ideal  in  Sir  Galahad,  "whose 
strength  was  as  the  strength  often,  because  his  heart 
was  pure,"  so  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  "  Knights 
of  the  Round  Table "  who  saw  the  Holy  Grail,  or 
who  saw  into  the  life  of  things. 

Where  possible  the  ''  Thoughts  "  will  be  introduced 
into  the  following  subjects  : — 

Reading.     Orpheus  and  his  Lute. 

Story  of  Sir  Galahad,  from  "Tales  of  the 
Round  Table  "  (Longmans). 

'*  Tintern     Abbey,"     from     Wordsworth 
Readers. 


English.  < 


Composition.      Essay  on  Harmony. 
Story  of  Sir  Galahad. 

Biography   of  Wordsworth — typical   poet 
^     of  Nature  and  Harmony. 

History.  The  aim  of  Nelson  and  Wellington 
in  the  Peninsular  War  (period  of  history 
taken)  was  to  preserve  the  "balance  of 
power." 

Geography,     Italy — physical  features. 

Harmony  of  colours,  climate,  scenery,  and 
the  effect  upon  the  people  by  making  them 
excel  as  artists  in  music,  painting,  and 
dancing. 


HARMONY  20I 

Domestic  Economy.  Home  life.  Each  one  has 
her  own  duties  to  perform  to  keep  the  home 
in  order,  i.e.  to  produce  harmony.  Neglect 
of  duties — even  one  small  duty  by  one  mem- 
ber—brings disorder. 

Music.  Singing  of  songs,  part  songs,  and 
unison  songs. 

*'  Folk  songs,"  where  greater  expression 
is  given  to  words  by  suitable  music,  e.g. 
sea  songs,  nature  songs.  National  songs  of 
other  nations  show  expression  of  harmony 
between  people  and  surroundings. 

Physical  Training.  Combination  of  movements 
to  produce  harmony. 

i.   Physical  exercises, 
ii.   Minuet.* 
iii.  Other  rhythmic  movements.* 

Harmony  and  rhythm  were  first  associated 
with  the  dance — it  is  the  "poetry  of  motion." 

School  Games.  Here  harmony  must  be  preserved  if  any 
benefit  is  to  be  derived  from  the  play.  Give-and-take, 
good  temper  and  courage,  concentration  and  patience, 
are  all  included  in  harmony. 

*  ii.  and  iii.  with  music. 


202        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


Matilda  Robinson. 

Ag^e  tivelve  years. 


HARMONY 


Harmony  is  a  blending  tog-ether  of  parts  to  make  a 
perfect  whole.  We  find  harmony  in  colours.  All  the 
primary  colours  blend  together  to  make  a  pure  white  light. 
There  is  harmony  in  sound.  We  call  this  harmony  music. 
Mozart  had  a  great  longing  for  harmony  in  sound.  He 
showed  it  when  he  composed  a  great  many  of  the  best 
pieces  of  music.  We  find  both  harmony  of  colour  and  of 
sound  in  nature.  Wordsworth  felt  this  harmony  and  was 
always  wanting  to  be  with  nature.  Emerson  was  the 
same.  He  was  so  full  of  love  for  nature  that  he  wrote  a 
piece  of  poetry  called  ''  The  Apology."  In  it  he  made  ex- 
cuses to  his  friends  for  his  absence.     He  said  — 

''  Think  me  not  unkind  and  rude, 

That  I  walk  alone  in  grove  and  glen  ; 
I  go  to  the  god  of  the  wood 
To  fetch  his  word  to  men." 

We  can  all  see  this  beauty  in  a  rippling  stream  when 
there  is  green  grass  and  trees  on  each  side,  and  the  sun  is 
making  it  sparkle  as  if  there  were  little  diamonds  in  it. 
We  can  all  see  the  birds  and  how  beautiful  they  look,  and 
we  can  hear  them  singing  so  sweetly.  Like  nature,  we 
can  be  in  harmony  ourselves.  To  do  this  we  must  let  our 
mind  and  soul  grow  together.  Tennyson  says  so  in  these 
words — 

"  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 


HARMONY  203 


Gladys  Briggs. 

Age  eleven  years. 


HARMONY 

Harmony  is  a  blending  together  of  parts  to  make  a 
perfect  whole.  We  can  have  harmony  in  sound,  which  is 
music.  Mendelssohn  felt  this  harmony,  and  expressed  it. 
Longfellow  wrote  about  a  man  called  Hiawatha.  He 
influenced  men,  women,  animals,  and  nature  herself. 
When  he  sang  or  played  he  softened  the  hearts  of  men  by 
the  pathos  of  his  music  ;  he  could  stir  the  souls  of  the 
women  to  passion  or  melt  them  to  pity,  and  he  could 
charm  the  brook  and  the  animals  to  silence.  Longfellow 
said  he  sang  of  peace,  which  is  only  another  name  for 
harmony.  We  can  also  have  harmony  in  colours.  The 
seven  colours  all  blending  together  make  one  perfect  white 
light.  White  is  a  sign  of  purity.  There  is  harmony  both 
of  sound  and  colour  in  nature.  We  can  see  this  harmony 
in  the  woods  in  any  season  of  the  year.  In  the  spring- 
time, when  the  trees  are  just  beginning  to  leaf  and  the 
grass  is  green,  there  is  harmony.  In  summer-time,  when 
all  the  flowers  are  blooming  and  the  trees  are  darker  green 
and  the  sky  is  blue  and  the  stream  is  rippling,  there  is 
the  same  spirit  of  harmony.  In  the  autumn,  when  the 
brown  leaves  are  all  getting  blown  about  and  there  are  the 
lovely  sunsets,  there  is  the  same  spirit  again.  Wordsworth 
felt  this  harmony,  and  sometimes  the  flowers  made  him 
happy  and  at  other  times  sad.  The  daffodils  made  him 
happy.     He  says  so  in  these  lines — 

"  And  then  my  heart  with  pleasure  fills, 
And  dances  with  the  daffodils." 

He  said  that  flowers  made  him  sad  in  these  lines — 

"  To  me  the  meanest  flower  that  blows 
Can  give  thoughts  that  do  often  lie 
Too  deep  for  tears." 


204        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

We  can  have  harmony  between  ourselves.  Tennyson 
says  this  in  these  lines — 

"  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

Steam,  electricity,  and  water  are  powers.  We  know 
what  great  things  these  can  do.  Wordsworth  says  that 
harmony  is  a  great  power  ;  it  can  help  us  to  see  into  the 
life  of  things.  Sir  Galahad  was  the  knight  of  King  Arthur 
who  did  see  into  the  life  of  things.  He  was  pure  in 
heart. 


HARMONY  205 


Edith  Aldam. 

Ag-e  ten  years. 


HARMONY 


Harmony  means  being  in  tune.  The  first  thing  we 
must  have  harmony  in  is  in  sound.  Sounds  in  harmony 
make  music.  There  can  be  harmony  in  colours.  The 
seven  colours  of  the  rainbow  are  examples  of  this.  They 
all  blend  together  and  make  one  perfect  light.  The  third 
thing  we  must  have  harmony  in  is  within  ourselves.  Our 
mind  and  soul  must  agree.  Tennyson's  lines  about 
harmony  are — 

*'  Let  knowledge  grow  from  more  to  more, 
But  more  of  reverence  in  us  dwell ; 
That  mind  and  soul,  according  well, 
May  make  one  music  as  before." 

The  food  for  our  soul  is  reverence  and  the  food  for  our 
mind  is  knowledge. 

There  are  some  colours  which  do  not  harmonize,  but  in 
Nature  they  do.  The  bluebell  and  its  green  leaves  is  an 
example.  Wordsworth  considers  that  harmony  is  a  great 
power  in  these  lines — 

*'  While  with  an  eye  made  quite  by  the  power 
Of  harmony,  and  the  deep  power  of  joy. 
We  see  into  the  life  of  things. " 

We  ought  to  have  harmony  in  the  house,  at  school,  and 
everywhere. 

There  is  a  proverb  which  says — **  It  takes  two  to  make 
a  quarrel,  but  one  can  always  end  it." 

War  shows  there  is  not  harmony  between  two  countries. 
They  disagree  and  then  war  results. 

Tennyson's  Hues  to  illustrate  harmony  are — 

"  When  shall  all  men's  good 
Be  each  man's  rule,  and  universal  peace 
Lie  like  a  shaft  of  light  across  the  land  ?  " 


2o6        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

There  are  two  of  the  Beatitudes  which  teach  harmony. 
They  are — 

**  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
For  they  shall  see  God." 

"  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers, 

For  they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God." 

There  was  harmony  in  the  *'  Home  at  Bethany,"  where 
Martha,  Mary,  and  Lazarus  lived.  Jesus  often  went  there 
to  rest.  One  of  Sir  Edwin  Arnold's  poems  which  teaches 
harmony  is — 

**  Have  goodwill  to  all  that  lives. 

Letting"  unkindness  die,  and  greed  and  wrath. 
So  that  your  lives  be  made 
Like  soft  airs  passing  by." 

In  school  a  child  can  try  to  make  harmony  in  her  class. 


LIST   OF    POEMS 
SUITABLE    FOR   ETHICAL   TEACHING 

**  Let  us  be  content,  in  work, 
To  do  the  thing-  we  can,  and  not  presume 
To  fret,  because  it's  Uttle." 

E.  B.  Browning. 

"  For  furthering-  such  increase  of  knowledge  on  this  matter,  may 
we  beg  the  reader  to  accept  two  small  pieces  of  advice  ? 

"  The  first  is,  no  wise  to  suppose  that  poetry  is  a  superficial  cursory 
business,  which  may  be  seen  through  to  the  very  bottom,  so  soon  as 
one  inclines  to  cast  his  eye  upon  it. 

"  We  speak  of  that  poetry  which  Masters  write,  which  aims  not  at 
'furnishing- a  languid  mind  with  fantastic  shows  and  indolent  emotions,' 
but  at  incorporating  the  everlasting  Reason  of  man  in  forms  visible  to 
his  sense  and  suitable  to  it ;  and  of  this  we  say,  that  to  know  it,  is  no 
slight  task,  but  rather  that,  being  the  essence  of  all  sciences,  it 
requires  the  purest  of  all  study  for  knowing  it."  Carlvle. 


ON   THE   POETRY   MEMORIZED  209 


ON   THE    POETRY    MEMORIZED 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  poems  that  have  been  learned 
by  the  children.  They  have  not  all  been  memorized  in  one 
year,  but  at  various  times  in  their  school  life.  They  may  not 
know  them  all  verbally  correctly  ;  but  having  once  learned 
them,  they  will  recognize  them  when  they  meet  them  again 
as  old  friends,  and  be  glad  to  renew  their  acquaintance. 
Having  once  learned  a  poem  or  part  of  one,  as  much  use 
is  made  of  it  as  possible  afterwards,  so  as  to  impress  it 
on  the  memory  by  association,  as  well  as  to  enforce  the 
teaching  for  which  the  poem  was  chosen.  I  ought  to  say 
here  that  the  children  are  not  kept  entirely  to  this  serious 
kind  of  poetry  ;  they  know  and  enjoy  Kipling's  verses 
from  the  Jungle  Books,  R.  L.  Stevenson's,  Eugene  Field's, 
and,  as  a  great  treat  occasionally,  Edward  Lear's  Nonsense 
Verses. 

I  do  not  agree  with  those  teachers  who  take  a  year 
to  study  one  poet's  works.  It  is  not  the  poet  and  his 
teachings  that  are  so  essential  for  the  child,  but  certain 
moral  truths  ;  and  it  is  much  more  valuable,  and  certainly 
more  interesting  to  see  what  many  minds  have  said 
about  the  Central  Thought  that  is  being  studied,  than  to 
confine  the  children  to  one  author,  for  a  poet  wanders 
from  one  subject  to  another.  His  mental  breadth  is  too 
great  for  a  child  to  follow.  It  is  better  to  take  one  idea 
and  impress  that  thoroughly  on  the  child's  mind,  enriching 
it  with  many  examples.  Our  children's  school  lives  are 
so  short.  Could  they  be  extended  even  for  a  couple  of 
years,  the  same  objection  would  not  be  so  strongly  made. 


2IO        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


POEMS    MEMORIZED 


I. 

2. 

3- 
4- 

5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 

lO. 

II. 

12. 

14. 

15- 
16. 

17. 
18. 
19. 

20. 

21. 
22. 

23- 
24. 

25- 
26. 
27. 
28. 
29. 
30- 
31- 
32. 

33- 


Selections  from  '*  As  You  Like  It." 

,,  ,,  various  plays  of  Shakespeare. 

"  The  Boy  and  the  Angel  "         .         Robert  Browning. 

**  Pippa  Passes "  (selections)      .  .  ,, 

''The  Epilogue "        ....  ,, 

''  A  Child's  Thoughts  of  God  "  E.  B.  Browning. 

''My  Kate" 

Selections  from  "  Tintern  Abbey  "      .  Wordsworth. 

,,  ,,    "  Ode  to  Immortality  "  ,, 

,,  ,,    "  To  my  Sister"        .  ,, 

,,  ,,    "  She  was  a  Phantom  "  ,, 

*' Daffodils  by  Ullswater  " 

"  The  Primrose  of  the  Rock  " 

Part  of  "Peter  Bell" 

"The  Tables  Turned"      . 

"  Ring  out  Wild  Bells "     .  .  .  Tennyson. 

Selections  from  "The  Idylls  of  the  King"  ,, 

,,  ,,       "  The  CEnone "  .  ,, 

,,  ,,       "  The  Princess  "        .  ,, 

"  In  Memoriam  "       .  ,, 


„       "  The  Golden  Year  " 
Verses  from  "  The  Jungle  Book  " 
"L'Envoi"  from  "The  Seven  Seas" 
"  The  Recessional " 
"  Puck  of  Pook's  Hill  "  (last  poem) 
"  The  Arrow  and  the  Song  " 
Selections  from  "  Hiawatha "    .         .  ,, 

,,  ,,       "TheLadderof  St.  Augustine  "  ,, 

Lines  on  "  Drudgery  "       .  .  .    George  Herbert. 

Selections  from  "The  Ancient  Mariner"        Coleridge. 
"  Sir  Launfal "  (selections)         .  .  Lowell. 

Part  of  "  Each  and  All  "  .  .  Emerson. 

"The  Apology"        ....  ,, 


R.  Kipling. 


Longfellow. 


SHORT   NOTES   ON   SOME   OF   THE 
CHARACTER   STUDIES 

**  Keep  thy  soul's  large  window  pure  from  wrong"." 

E.  B.  Browning. 


CHARACTER    STUDIES  215 

ABOU-BEN-ADHEM 

This  is  a  poem  written  by  Leigh  Hunt,  in  which  he 
shows  us  that  love  for  our  fellow-man  is  love  for  God. 
It  illustrates  Christ's  teaching-  that  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  do  it 
unto  the  least  of  these  My  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  Me." 

Abou-Ben-Adhem  awoke  one  night  from  a  deep  sleep, 
and  saw  an  angel  in  the  room  writing  in  a  book  of  gold. 
He  was  not  afraid,  but  asked  the  angel  what  he  was 
writing.  "The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord," 
replied  the  angel.  Abou,  on  being  told  that  his  name 
was  not  there,  said:  "Write  me  as  one  who  loves  his 
fellow-men."  The  angel  wrote  and  vanished.  The  next 
night  he  came  again  and  showed  the  names  of  those 
whom  God  had  blessed.  And  lo  !  Ben-Adhem's  name  led 
all  the  rest,  thus  making  it  plain  to  Abou  that  God 
accepted  as  love  for  Himself,  love  given  to  our  fellow-men. 

y 

SIR   BEDIVERE 

Sir  Bedivere  was  the  last  knight  to  be  with  King  Arthur 
before  he  died. 

He  was  loyal  and  sympathetic,  but  one  fault  spoilt  his 
character  and  also  the  last  hours  of  his  master's  life. 

The  magic  sword  Excalibur  was  given  Arthur  by  the 
Lady  of  the  Lake. 

Before  he  died  he  wished  to  return  it ;  but  as  he  was 
too  feeble  to  throw  it  into  the  middle  of  the  lake  himself, 
he  asked  Sir  Bedivere  to  throw  it  back  into  the  water 
whence  it  came. 

But  the  richness  of  the  sword  tempted  the  knight,  and 
he  hid  it  in  the  marshes.  When  he  returned,  the  king 
asked  him  what  he  had  seen.  He  knew  by  the  answer  that 
he  had  not  thrown  it. 

A  second  time  he  yielded  to  temptation. 

The  third  time  the  King  became  very  angry,  so  Sir 
Bedivere  obeyed,  and  the  sword  was  received  by  the  hand 
that  gave  it  to  the  King. 

If  Sir  Bedivere  had  only  had  self-control,  what  a  comfort 
he  might  have  been  to  the  King  at  the  end  I 


2i6        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


ALFRED   THE    GREAT 

Alfred  the  Great  was  born  at  Wantage,  in  Berkshire,  in 
the  year  849.  He  ascended  the  throne  in  871.  He  fought 
and  won  many  battles  with  the  Danes.  His  victories,  and 
the  success  of  his  whole  career,  were  no  doubt  due  to 
the  order  and  method  he  observed  in  the  carrying-  out  of 
his  plans.  This  is  shown  up  clearly  in  contrast  with  the 
recklessness  of  the  Danes.  Alfred  recognized  that  good 
order  was  the  foundation  of  good  government.  He 
organized  a  national  militia,  and  built  a  fleet,  as  he 
saw  that  the  failures  of  the  Saxons  to  repulse  invading 
tribes  was  due  to  an  unmethodical,  unprepared  mode  of 
procedure.  He  drew  up  a  code  of  laws,  by  which  people 
could  regulate  their  lives.  He  appointed  good  judges  to 
see  that  justice  was  done.  He  is  rightly  called  "The 
Great"  because  his  aim  was  high,  and  he  was  so  orderly 
and  methodical  in  all  his  plans. 

^/ 

CORDELIA 

The  character  of  Cordelia  in  the  play  of  ''King  Lear" 
forms  an  ideal  one  for  us.  All  through  the  play  her  char- 
acter shines  out  against  the  wickedness  of  her  sisters.  She 
possesses  all  the  virtues  that,  as  Tennyson  says,  ''  lead  life 
to  sov^ereign  power,"  and  we  see  the  result  in  her  gentle, 
loving  disposition.  Her  father  said  of  her:  ''  Her  voice 
was  ever  soft,  gentle,  and  low,  an  excellent  thing  in 
woman." 

In  the  division  of  her  father's  kingdom  her  courage  and 
self-control  are  evident.  She  would  not  tell  her  love  for 
her  father  for  the  sake  of  gaining  a  portion  of  his  lands ; 
her  sisters  might  flatter  him,  but  Cordelia  would  "love 
and  be  silent."  Later  on  she  proved  her  love  by  her 
gentle,  tender  care  of  the  father  whom  her  sisters  had  so 
sworn  they  loved,  and  so  basely  deserted. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  217 


COLUMBUS 

Christopher-  Columbus,  the  celebrated  navigator  and 
discoverer  of  the  Western  World,  was  born  in  the  city  of 
Genoa  about  1446.  He  spent  most  of  his  life  on  the  sea, 
and  became  one  of  the  most  skilful  navigators  of  Europe. 
He  was  convinced  that  by  sailing  across  the  Atlantic  in 
a  westerly  direction,  new  countries  would  be  discovered. 
In  order  to  undertake  this  enterprise,  he  needed  money 
and  the  patronage  of  a  sovereign.  His  proposed  voyage 
was  looked  upon  as  absurd  by  many  of  the  Courts  of 
Europe  ;  but,  undaunted,  he  persevered,  and  at  last  Queen 
Isabella  of  Spain  fitted  out  three  small  vessels  for  the 
enterprise.  Columbus  showed  his  self-reliance  in  not 
allowing  the  treatment  he  received  by  almost  every  one 
to  turn  him  from  his  purpose.  He  set  sail,  and  for  many 
days  all  went  well.  Then  murmurs  arose  among  the 
crew.  His  self-reliance  was  wonderful ;  not  only  did  he 
remain  true  to  his  former  opinions  himself,  but  he  infused 
courage  and  hope  into  his  faint-hearted  and  refractory 
sailors.  At  last  indications  of  land  appeared ;  and  in 
August,  1492,  he  landed  safely  on  one  of  the  West 
India  Islands — San  Salvador.  Thus  to  the  self-reliance 
of  one  man  do  we  owe  the  discovery  of  our  Western 
World. 

ST.  CHRISTOPHER 

St.  Christopher  wished  to  show  his  zeal  for  God  by 
doing  something  very  arduous,  and  so  he  went  to  a 
hermit  and  begged  to  be  given  some  hard  duty.  The 
hermit  told  him  to  build  a  hut  by  a  stream  and  carry 
people  across.  Poor  Christopher  was  most  disappointed 
at  having  only  this  simple  drudgery  to  do — such  a  very 
ordinary,  simple  thing.  But  it  was  an  order,  and  he  re- 
solved to  obey  it  to  the  letter.  For  a  long  time  he  per- 
formed his  monotonous  task,  until  one  night  a  child  asked 
to  be  carried  across.  In  mid-stream  the  child  was  so 
heavy  that  Christopher  became  exhausted,  and  with  diffi- 
culty reached  the  other  side.  Then  the  little  Child,  Who 
was  the  Christ,  declared  Himself,  and  Christopher  felt 
rewarded  for  his  steadfastness  to  his  duty. 


2i8        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


DAVID   AND   JONATHAN 

David's  great  feat  of  killing  the  giant  Goliath  drew 
Jonathan  greatly  to  him.  The  Bible  says,  *'The  soul  of 
Jonathan  was  knit  with  the  soul  of  David,"  implying  that 
they  loved  each  other.  They  made  a  covenant  that  they 
would  be  brothers,  and  as  a  sign,  Jonathan  took  off  his 
robes,  sword,  and  spear,  and  gave  them  to  David. 

There  came  a  time  in  the  lives  of  these  two  when 
Jonathan  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  his  friendship, 
and  although  it  was  possible  that  he  might  get  into 
trouble  with  his  father,  Jonathan  proved  true  to  David. 
After  a  time,  however,  they  agreed  to  part,  and  made  a 
solemn  oath  to  God  that  David  and  h.is  children  should 
always  be  faithful  friends  to  Jonathan  and  his  children. 


SIR   GARETH 

Sir  Gareth  was  one  of  King  Arthur's  knights.  To 
attain  this  position  he  had  to  make  a  promise  to  his  mother 
that  he  would  work  in  the  King's  kitchen  for  a  year  and  a 
day  without  telling"  who  he  was.  He  had  to  do  the  meanest 
kind  of  work,  and  much  joking  went  on  at  his  expense  ; 
but  this  he  took  all  in  good  part.  He  did  his  work  as 
cheerfully  as  possible,  so  that  no  one  would  know  that  it 
was  not  the  kind  of  work  to  which  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed. In  other  words,  he  performed  his  work  of 
drudgery,  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  so  ennobled  his 
work  that  George  Herbert  might  have  thought  of  him 
when  he  wrote  :  — 

"  A  servant  with  this  clause 
Makes  drudgery  divine  ; 
Who  sweeps  a  room  as  for  Thy  laws, 
Makes  that  and  the  action  fine." 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  219 


THE    DEERSLAYER 

The  Deerslayer  is  a  character  in  one  of  Fenimore 
Cooper's  books.  Many  boys  have  read  this  book  ;  they 
love  the  stirring-  adventures  in  it.  The  Hind  was  a 
Canadian  frontierman,  and  whilst  rescuing-  an  Indian  girl, 
was  captured.  He  was  condemned  to  be  tortured;  but  so 
well  known  was  he  as  a  man  of  honour,  that  the  Indians 
allowed  him  to  pay  a  farewell  visit  to  his  friends,  relying" 
solely  on  his  promise  to  return  at  the  end  of  two  days. 
He  had  ample  opportunities  to  escape  during  those  two 
days,  and  his  friends  urged  him  to  do  so  ;  but  the  Deer- 
slayer's  ''word  was  his  bond,"  and  he  returned  to  the 
Indians  to  await  with  fortitude  whatever  fate  might 
be  in  store  for  him. 


DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON,    1769-1852 

Arthur  Wellesley  was  born  in  Dublin.  He  was  educated 
at  a  military  college  in  France  and  entered  the  British  army. 

In  the  same  year  that  Wellesley  was  born  in  Dublin, 
Napoleon  Buonaparte  was  born  in  Corsica.  Buonaparte, 
by  the  year  1804,  had  made  himself  Emperor  of  France, 
and  by  1808  was  master  of  continental  Europe.  Then  he 
occupied  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  made  his  brother  King 
of  Spain.  The  Spaniards  could  not  cope  with  the  French 
army  and  appealed  to  Britain  for  help.  In  1809  Wellesley 
landed  at  Lisbon,  and  took  command  of  the  British  and 
Spanish  forces.  He  defeated  the  French  at  Douro  and 
Talavera,  took  the  stronghold  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  Badajoz 
from  the  French,  defeated  them  at  Salamanca  and  Vittoria, 
and  finally  drove  them  out  of  the  Peninsula  altogether. 

Napoleon  was  forced  to  abdicate,  and  went  to  Elba  as 
prisoner  in  1814. 

In  1815  Napoleon  escaped  from  Elba  to  his  old  guards, 
and  entered  Paris  as  master  of  the  country. 

The  British,  Belgian,  Dutch,  and  Hanoverian  troops, 
under  Wellington,  and  the  Prussians,  under  Blucher, 
assembled  in  Belgium.    June  i8th,  181 5,  a  battle  was  fought 


220        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

on  the  field  of  Waterloo,  and  the  French  army  was  utterly 
ruined. 

Napoleon  tried  to  escape  to  America,  but  was  captured 
and  sent  as  a  life  prisoner  to  St.  Helena,  where  he  died 
in  1821. 

This  victory  virtually  ended  Wellington's  military  career. 
Honours  were  showered  on  him  from  all  quarters. 

The  remainder  of  his  life  was  devoted  to  statesmanship. 
As  a  statesman,  he  held  a  lower  place  than  as  a  warrior. 
He  could  calculate  perfectly  the  power  of  an  armed  bat- 
talion, but  not  the  power  of  an  armed  opinion.  His 
soldiers  had  perfect  confidence  in  him  as  a  warrior,  but 
the  people  did  not  trust  him  so  implicitly  as  a  statesman. 
As  soldier  and  as  statesman,  his  courage  and  integrity 
were  beyond  question.     Tennyson  says  of  him — 

**  Remember  all 
He  spoke  among  you,  and  the  man  who  spoke  ; 
Who  never  sold  the  truth  to  serve  the  hour, 
Nor  paltered  with  Eternal  God  for  power  ; 
Who  let  the  turbid  streams  of  rumour  flow 
Thro'  either  babbling  world  of  high  and  low  ; 
Whose  life  was  work,  whose  language  rife 
With  rugged  maxims  hewn  from  life  ; 
Who  never  spoke  against  a  foe  ; 
Whose  eighty  winters  freeze  with  one  rebuke 
All  great  self-seekers  trampling  on  the  right : 
Truth-teller  was  our  England's  Alfred  named  ; 
Truth-lover  was  our  English  Duke  ; 
Whatever  record  leap  to  light 
He  never  shall  be  shamed." 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  221 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 

It  is  just  one  hundred  years  since  Benjamin  Franklin 
made  his  name  and  mark  in  America.  Although  only  the 
son  of  a  poor  tallow-chandler,  yet  by  his  perseverance, 
courage,  and  self-knowledge  he  rose  to  be  an  honour 
and  help  to  his  country.  Being  apprenticed  to  his  brother, 
who  was  a  printer,  he  had  access  to  many  books,  and  at 
thirteen  years  of  age  began  to  write  for  the  press.  His 
name  is  associated  in  many  ways  for  the  good  and 
advancement  of  his  fellows. 

He  set  on  foot  the  first  public  library  in  Philadelphia. 

He  started  the  first  fire  insurance  company. 

He  raised  subscriptions  for  a  public  academy. 

He  proposed  a  plan  for  the  union  of  American  provinces. 

He  discovered  the  identity  of  electricity  and  lightning. 

America  sent  him  to  England  to  represent  her  at  a  con- 
troversy, and  afterwards  to  France,  and  in  both  countries 
his  sterling  worth  was  fully  recognized.  One  of  his  last 
acts  was  to  sign  a  paper  for  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

He  was  most  orderly  in  the  management  of  his  time  and 
used  to  keep  a  time  table,  to  which  he  adhered  most  strictly. 
He  rose  every  morning  at  four,  and  retired  at  10  p.m. 
When  he  woke  he  asked  himself,  "  What  good  shall  I  do 
this  day?"  In  the  evening,  '*What  good  have  I  done 
this  day?" 

SIR   GALAHAD     Z^ 

Sir  Galahad  at  the  outset  of  his  career  obtained  the 
shield  which  could  "only  be  hung  round  the  neck  of  the 
worthiest  knight  in  the  world."  His  life  was  one  of  con- 
stant battling  with  the  evil  forces  of  the  world.  He  was 
able  to  draw  the  sword  from  the  sheath  which  Sir  Bors 
and  Sir  Percivale  failed  to  do.  It  was  girt  about  his  waist 
by  a  strange  gentlewoman,  and  she  told  him  that  the  arm  of 
the  knight  who  wielded  it  should  never  grow  weary,  and 
that  he  should  always  have  joy  in  his  heart.  Sir  Galahad 
was  able  to  do  many  acts.  He  cured  King  Pelles,  and  after- 
wards an  old  cripple.  He  did  not  desire  the  life  of  this 
world,  and  was  told  that  he  should  "find  the  life  of  the 


222        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

soul."     After  the  vision  of  the  Holy  Grail,  the  story  says 
he  was  borne  by  angels  into  heaven.    He  said  of  himself — 
"  My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten, 
Because  my  heart  is  pure." 

Harmony  between  mind  and  soul  made  this  knight  pure 
in  heart,  and  of  him  could  be  said — 

*'  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

HYPATIA 

Hypatia  was  a  great  teacher  who  lived  in  Alexandria 
about  fifteen  hundred  years  ago.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  Theon,  a  great  mathematician.  She  studied  in  Athens 
and  learnt  the  philosophy  of  Plato,  which  she  practised 
and  taught  afterwards.  At  that  time  the  Christian  religion 
was  the  religion  of  the  Roman  Empire ;  but  as  the  Romans 
were  only  nominal  Christians,  they  persecuted  all  those 
who  did  not  call  themselves  by  the  same  name. 

Cyril,  the  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  was  jealous  of  the  influ- 
ence of  Hypatia  over  the  people,  and  especially  that  she 
had  the  friendship  of  Orestes,  the  governor.  Cyril  insti- 
gated some  fanatic  monks  to  attack  her  ;  they  had  already 
destroyed  all  the  art  treasures  and  Greek  learning  they 
could  lay  their  hands  upon.  She  was  murdered  while 
driving  to  one  of  her  lectures,  and  was  dragged  by  these 
monks  and  the  rabble  to  a  Christian  church,  where  she 
was  torn  limb  from  limb. 

SIR   HENRY    IRVING 

The  greatest  actor  of  modern  times  attained  his  fame 
by  his  steady  perseverance.  Bram  Stoker  says  that  al- 
though Irving  saw  the  great  possibilities  of  the  "Merchant 
of  Venice"  as  a  great  spectacular  play,  he  would  not  under- 
take it  until  he  had  seen  the  Jew  in  his  own  land,  and  in 
his  own  dress.  He  persevered  and  persevered  to  gain  the 
likeness  to  the  real  Jew  in  his  acting.  Before  he  produced 
"  Faust,"  he  travelled  all  the  way  to  Nuremberg  to  see 
for  himself  what  would  be  the  most  suitable  and  picturesque 
setting  for  the  play.  He  did  nothing  in  slipshod  manner. 
He  persevered  to  make  every  detail  perfect. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  223 

JOAN    OF   ARC 

Edward  III  had  claimed  the  crown  of  France  through 
his  mother,  the  daughter  of  the  French  king.  As  the 
French  did  not  acknowledge  his  right,  he  began  a  war 
with  France  which  lasted  a  hundred  years. 

In  1346  a  terrible  blow  was  inflicted  on  the  French  at 
the  battle  of  Cre9y.  They  rose  and  struggled  on,  until 
in  1356  they  went  down  under  another  crushing  defeat  at 
Poictiers.  The  war  went  on,  and  in  1415  France  was 
again  laid  prostrate  at  the  battle  of  Agincourt.  France 
was  wrecked,  devastated.  Deliverance  was  now  to  come 
from  a  simple  peasant  maiden,  Joan  of  Arc,  who  was 
born  at  the  village  of  Domremy.  She  had  never  learned 
to  read  or  write,  but  spent  her  time  in  spinning  or  minding 
her  father's  flock.  As  she  worked,  voices  within  her  bade 
her  be  diligent  in  work  and  prayer,  for  she  was  to  do  a 
great  work.  When  she  was  seventeen,  the  voices  told 
her  that  her  mission  was  to  save  France  from  the  English 
and  set  the  Dauphin  on  the  throne.  At  first  the  Dauphin 
treated  her  request  that  she  might  lead  his  army  as  mad- 
ness, but  at  last  he  yielded  to  her  wish.  She  set  out  to 
Orleans,  which  the  English  were  then  besieging. 

When  the  English  saw  her  at  the  front  of  the  French 
army  they  thought  she  was  a  witch  and  were  terrified. 
She  made  her  way  into  Orleans,  and,  once  in  the  town, 
fought  so  stubbornly  that  the  English  were  forced  to  with- 
draw. The  whole  city  was  ablaze  with  bonfires,  and  the 
streets  rang  with  the  cry  *'  Welcome  to  the  Maid  of 
Orleans!"  She  then  begged  the  Dauphin  to  go  to  Rheims 
to  be  crowned.  He  feared  for  his  safety,  for  the  English  held 
all  the  strongholds  which  lay  between  him  and  Rheims. 
Joan  bet  to  work  and  succeeded  in  taking  these.  Then 
the  Dauphin  went  to  Rheims  and  was  crowned.  All 
through  the  campaign  Joan  had  obeyed  the  voices  within 
her,  and  at  every  step  had  been  victorious.  Now  they 
bade  her  go  home,  for  her  mission  was  accomplished.  She 
begged  permission  of  the  King,  but  he  would  not  let  her 
go  ;  she  was  too  useful  to  him. 

Then  success  deserted  her.  She  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  French  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  was  fighting  against 
the   King,   and   was  sold  by  him  to   the   English.     They 


224        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

made  her  undergo  a  long  trial ;  and  though  they  could 
find  no  fault  in  her,  they  condemned  her  to  death  as  a 
heretic  and  witch.  Charles — King  as  she  had  made  him — 
allowed  her,  the  saviour  of  France,  to  be  hunted  to  death 
without  making  an  effort  to  save  her  ;  and  on  the  30th  of 
May,  143 1,  she  was  burned  to  death  in  the  market-place 
of  Rouen. 

SIR   LAUNFAL 

The  story  of  Sir  Launfal  was  written  by  James  Russell 
Lowell.  On  a  perfect  day  in  June,  Sir  Launfal  remem- 
bered a  vow  he  had  made  to  find  the  Holy  Grail.  He 
bade  his  servant  get  ready  his  golden  spurs  and  richest- 
mail,  and  said  he  would  never  sleep  in  a  bed  until  he  had 
begun  his  search.  He  slept  on  rushes  and  dreamt  that 
he  set  forth  to  seek  the  Holy  Grail.  As  he  went  along,  he 
saw  a  leper  who  moaned  and  begged.  Sir  Launfal  loathed 
him  and  thought  he  was  the  only  blot  on  that  lovely 
summer  morning.  He  threw  the  poor  wretch  a  piece  of 
gold.  The  leper  did  not  touch  the  gold,  and  said  he 
would  rather  have  a  crust  or  a  blessing  from  a  poor  man, 
than  gold  given  so  unlovingly.  Then  his  dream  changed. 
It  was  winter  and  Sir  Launfal,  who  had  grown  old,  re- 
turned to  his  castle  to  find  preparations  were  being  made 
for  Christmas  festivities,  and  another  was  in  his  place. 
He  turned  and  wandered  to  a  desert.  His  clothes  were 
thin  and  old,  and  he  had  only  a  crust  of  bread.  Again  he 
saw  a  leper,  who  begged  an  alms.  Sir  Launfal  pitied  the 
leper,  and  shared  with  him  his  crust,  and  broke  the  ice  of 
the  river  that  he  might  give  him  a  drink.  Then  there  was 
a  change  in  the  leper  ;  he  stood  before  him  glorified,  and 
said — 

*'  Thou  hast  spent  thy  life  for  the  Holy  Grail ; 
Behold,  it  is  here — this  cup  which  thou 
Didst  fill  at  the  streamlet  for  me  but  now ; 

The  Holy  Supper  is  kept,  indeed. 

In  whatso  we  share  with  another's  need." 

Then  Sir  Launfal  awoke,  and  said  he  had  no  need  to  go 
away  in  search  of  the  Holy  Grail,  he  could  find  it  in  his 
own  castle. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  225 


LEONARDO   DA  VINCI 

This  great  artist,  mechanician,  and  inventor  lived  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  that  wonderful  period  made  memorable 
by  the  lives  of  Joan  of  Arc  and  Christopher  Columbus. 

Leonardo  had  such  a  high  ideal  of  the  mission  and  person 
of  Christ,  that  he  longed  to  impress  upon  the  world  this 
divine  conception  through  his  painting.  He  painted  ''  The 
Last  Supper,"  but  was  twelve  years  before  he  could  satisfy 
himself  with  the  face  of  the  Christ. 

Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  learnt  much  from  him  ; 
but  while  they  gained  honours  and  the  world's  applause, 
he  died  almost  unknown.  He  has  been  called  the  Fore- 
runner, because  many  things  that  he  started  were  finished 
and  perfected  by  others,  who  got  the  credit.  He  was  full 
of  **  ideas." 

Although  his  ideals  were  high  and  his  talents  great,  yet 
nothing  he  did  seemed  perfected.  Even  his  great  picture 
showed  signs  of  damp  in  his  lifetime,  and  his  equestrian 
statue  was  destroyed  by  the  mob.  He  nearly  invented  a 
flying  machine,  but  a  servant  was  killed  in  trying  it.  One 
picture  though  remains  in  all  its  beauty — ''  Monna  Lisa." 


LINCOLN 

The  famous  President  of  America  was  born  in  1809. 
He  acquired  arithmetic  during  the  winter  evenings  after 
a  hard  day's  work.  He  mastered  grammar  during  odd 
moments,  while  he  was  keeping  a  small  shop,  and  he 
studied  law  when  following  the  business  of  a  surveyor. 
He  put  into  practice  the  maxim  "  A  change  of  occupation 
is  rest."  He  never  missed  an  opportunity  of  improving 
himself.  No  wonder  he  became  one  of  the  greatest  of 
presidents.  And  he  always  had  time  to  give  to  others 
when  they  needed  him.  He  mapped  out  his  time  and 
made  the  most  use  of  his  opportunities.  He  was  a  true 
patriot  and  worked  hard  for  the  welfare  of  his  country. 
He  issued  the  proclamations  freeing  all  .slaves  of  the 
Union,  after  freeing  the  slaves  in  the  rebel  states.  It  was 
his  great  force  of  character  that  kept  the  country  at  this 


226        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

troublous  time  free  from  foreign  complications.  It  is  said 
that  his  second  inaugural  address  as  President  is  one  of 
the  greatest  speeches  the  world  has  ever  heard. 

In  a  speech  made  after  he  became  Ambassador  to 
America,  Mr.  Bryce  quotes  the  story  of  him  that  "on 
one  occasion  early  in  his  career,  Lincoln  went  to  a  public 
meeting,  not  in  the  least  intending  to  speak  ;  but  presently, 
being  called  for  by  the  audience,  rose  in  obedience  to  the 
call  and  delivered  a  long  address,  so  ardent  and  thrilling, 
that  the  reporters  dropped  their  pencils  and,  absorbed  in 
watching  him,  forgot  to  take  down  what  he  said.  At  the 
dedication  of  a  soldiers'  burial  ground  at  Gettysburg,  he 
said  a  few  plain  words  which  did  not  seem  to  have  an 
extraordinary  effect  on  his  hearers,  but  sank  into  the  heart 
and  conscience  of  America  and  Europe." 

He  was  shot  by  an  actor  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years. 

SIR   THOMAS   MORE 

Sir  Thomas  More  was  a  brilliant  writer  and  orator,  a 
distinguished  statesman  and  judge. 

He  was  born  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  left 
school  when  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  was  first  a 
page  in  the  house  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
predicted  a  great  future  for  him.  His  wit  and  conversa- 
tional powers  were  even  then  beyond  the  ordinary.  He 
studied  law  at  Oxford,  and  afterwards  became  a  member 
of  Parliament,  and  was  knighted.  Henry  VIII  thought 
most  highly  of  him  and  gave  him  many  honours.  But 
although  he  was  a  great  celebrity  in  public  life,  it  was  in 
the  family  circle  that  he  shone  the  most.  He  educated 
his  daughters  most  highly,  and  they  were  his  great  friends. 
It  was  against  his  desire  that  he  became  Lord  Chancellor, 
for  it  would  take  him  more  away  from  home. 

When  the  King  married  Anne  Boleyn,  More  would  not 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King  as  Head  of  the 
Church,  and  was  tried  for  treason  and  executed. 

A  beautiful  story  of  the  home  life  of  Sir  Thomas  More 
has  been  written  by  Miss  Manning,  which  I  am  sure 
would  interest  all  boys  and  girls  who  love  history  and 
good  reading. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  227 


SIR   ISAAC   NEWTON 


l^ 


Isaac  Newton  was  born  on  Christmas  Day,  1642,  at  the 
village  of  Woolsthorpe  in  Lincolnshire. 

In  his  early  years  he  was  not  at  all  a  bright  scholar, 
and  showed  no  signs  of  any  future  greatness. 

He  was  fond  of  using  tools  and  making  models — 
amongst  them  a  clock,  a  windmill,  and  sundial. 

When  he  grew  up,  he  made  many  wonderful  discoveries. 
He  found  out  the  nature  of  light  and  the  force  of  gravita- 
tion. Then  the  wonders  of  the  heavenly  bodies  attracted 
him,  and  he  spent  night  after  night  studying  them  through 
his  telescope.     Then  came  a   great  trouble. 

When  Newton  had  been  at  work  for  nearly  twenty  years 
studying  the  theory  of  light,  his  little  dog  Diamond  upset 
a  candle  on  his  valuable  papers  and  destroyed  them  all. 
Instead  of  punishing  the  dog  severely,  as  most  men  would 
have  done,  he  simply  said,  ''Oh,  Diamond,  thou  little 
knowest  the  mischief  thou  hast  done  !  " 

We  could  have  no  more  fitting  illustration  for  our 
Thought  "Self-control,"  than  Sir  Isaac  Newton. 


ROBERT   OWEN 

Robert  Owen,  the  pioneer  of  the  Co-operative  Movement, 
was  born  in  1771  in  a  little  Welsh  village.  His  parents 
were  poor,  but  very  highly  respected. 

At  school  he  was  very  clever,  even  brilliant,  and  at 
home  he  was  particularly  good-humoured  and  obliging. 

Between  the  ages  of  nine  and  nineteen  he  was  engaged 
in  retail  shops  in  London,  Lincoln,  and  Manchester.  At 
nineteen  he  began  as  a  manufacturer  for  himself,  and  at 
twenty-eight,  finding  business  not  good,  he  went  as  a 
manager  to  New  Lanark.  Here,  as  in  Lancashire,  he 
found  the  factory  hands  and  the  workers  generally  in  a 
very  wretched  state  of  poverty  and  crime — poor  wages 
and  dear  food  made  them  dishonest  and  unable  to  lift 
themselves  out  of  this  living  death.  Robert  Owen  deter- 
mined to  alter  the  lives  of  these  working  people,  or  rather 
to  make  them  help  themselves  and  each  other  to  alter  the 


228        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

existent  state  of  things.  He  taught  them  the  necessity 
of  cleanliness,  and  also  how  to  co-operate  in  the  purchase 
of  articles  of  food  at  wholesale  prices  and  afterwards  to 
sell  these  purchases  to  each  other  without  the  cost  of  the 
'*  middleman." 

Thus  he  established  the  rudiments  of  the  co-operative 
system,  and  he  urged  the  workers  in  other  large  centres  of 
factory  life  to  do  the  same,  and,  as  a  result  of  his  efforts, 
the  Rochdale  pioneers  opened  the  first  co-operative  stores 
in  1844. 

Owen  opened  schools  for  his  people,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  teachers  to  get  pupils  to  practise  self-discipline.  He 
died  in  1858  at  Newtown,  his  birthplace. 

PERSEUS 

Perseus  was  the  son  of  Danae  and  the  god  Zeus.  He 
was  saved,  like  Moses  and  Jesus,  from  death  when  a 
baby,  and  brought  up  carefully  by  his  mother.  The  ruler 
of  the  island,  wishing  to  get  rid  of  him,  sent  him  in  quest 
of  the  head  of  Medusa.  Although  Perseus  knew  why  he 
w^as  sent  on  this  errand,  yet  he  had  such  confidence  in 
himself  that  undismayed  he  set  out,  for  he  knew  also  that 
as  long  as  he  worked  on  nature's  lines,  all  would  go  well. 
As  he  foresaw,  he  was  befriended,  for  the  nature  nymphs 
gave  him  the  helmet  which  made  him  invisible,  the  winged 
sandals  which  bore  their  wearer  through  the  sky,  and  the 
wallet.  Hermes  added  his  own  curved  sword,  and  Athena 
a  shield  of  polished  brass.  Thus  armed  and  protected,  he 
was  able  to  bring  the  head  of  Medusa  to  the  cruel  King. 
It  was  while  returning  with  this  head  that  he  saved  the 
maiden  Andromeda  from  the  dragon.  He  married  her 
and  brought  her  to  his  mother  and  then  returned  the 
helmet,  sword,  wallet,  and  sandals  to  Hermes,  and  the 
Gorgon's  head  and  shield  to  Athena. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  229 


THE   STORY   OF   PIPPA 

(Taken   from   the    Poem    *'  Pippa   Passes," 
BY   R.    Browning) 

Pippa  was  a  poor  little  Italian  girl,  who  had  to  work 
very  hard  as  a  silk  winder  in  one  of  the  silk  mills  at 
Asolo.  She  was  always  bright  and  happy,  because  she 
put  joy  into  her  work. 

New  Year's  Day  was  the  only  holiday  she  had  in  the 
whole  year,  so  Pippa  resolved  to  go  for  a  long  walk  and 
have  a  happy  time.  First  she  went  up  the  hillside  and 
entered  a  beautiful  garden  and  stood  before  a  large  house 
where  some  rich  people  lived. 

They  had  everything  money  could  buy,  but  had  no  joy 
in  their  lives,  because  they  had  done  wrong.  The  ragged, 
barefooted  girl  heard  them  talking,  and  saw  by  their  faces 
they  were  miserable.  Now  Pippa  was  a  very  sweet  singer 
and  sang  beautiful  words  that  she  had  never  learnt  from  a 
book.  The  voice  within  told  her  the  words  to  sing.  Seeing 
the  unhappy  look  on  the  faces  of  the  man  and  woman, 
Pippa  felt  she  must  sing.  Her  sweet  song  went  to  the 
man's  heart,  and  he  knew  how  wicked  he  had  been  and 
resolved  to  be  a  better  man.  During  the  day  everywhere 
Pippa  went,  her  sweet  singing  made  people  know  the 
difference  between  good  and  bad. 

When  Pippa's  holiday  was  over  and  she  was  going  to 
bed,  the  following  verse  came  into  her  mind  : — 

*'  All  service  ranks  the  same  with  God  ; 
His  presence  fills  our  earth  ; 
Each  only  as  God  wills,  can  work." 

Pippa  knew  that  the  verse  meant  that  she  was  only 
a  poor  little  silk  winder,  but  that  if  she  did  her  work 
well  and  put  joy  into  it,  then  her  work  would  be  divine. 


Q  2 


230        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


ROBERT   OF   SICILY  ' 

Robert  of  Sicily  is  a  character  in  one  of  Longfellow's 
poems.  The  poem  opens  with  King-  Robert  in  church. 
He  is  attending  vespers  in  all  the  pomp  and  magnificence 
of  his  kingly  office.  As  he  listens  to  the  prayers,  one 
passage,  which  is  constantly  repeated  in  Latin,  catches  his 
ears,  and  he  asks  for  a  translation  of  it.  It  is — "  He  has 
put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seat,  and  has  exalted  them 
of  low  degree." 

King  Robert  sneers  and  remarks  that  "no  power  can 
push  him  from  the  throne,"  and  then  he  falls  asleep.  On 
awaking,  a  great  change  has  taken  place  for  him.  The 
church  is  in  darkness,  and  instead  of  his  costly  robes,  he 
is  now  only  half  clothed  in  rags.  He  makes  an  eff'ort  to 
get  out,  and  at  last  manages  to  arouse  the  sexton,  who 
thinks  the  King  is  either  a  drunkard  or  a  beggar. 

Reaching  the  castle,  he  finds  the  change  is  there  also, 
for  another  king,  his  counterpart,  rules  in  his  place,  who 
laughs  when  Robert  addresses  him  as  an  impostor  and 
who  orders  him  to  be  taken  and  dressed  as  a  jester,  which 
is  to  be  his  future  position. 

The  poem  continues  the  account  of  all  the  hardships 
which  accompany  poor  Robert's  downfall,  especially  as  in 
his  position  as  jester  he  forms  part  of  the  new  King's 
retinue  on  his  way  to  Rome  to  keep  Easter. 

On  Easter  Sunday,  the  jester  awakes  with  a  new  feeling 
within  him — that  of  the  Christ,  of  goodwill  to  all  men, 
and,  kneeling  on  his  chamber  floor,  he  realizes  the  meaning 
of  all  that  has  happened. 

The  King  and  his  followers,  with  the  jester,  whose  heart 
is  now  full  of  humility  and  love,  return  to  Palermo,  and 
there  the  angel,  who  has  usurped  the  throne  for  the  tim  e, 
tells  King  Robert  that  as  he  has  now  learnt  the  lesson  of 
goodwill,  he  is  once  more  to  assume  his  former  office  as 
King,  which  he  does,  prepared  to  rule  his  people  with  none 
of  his  former  pride  and  arrogance. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES      .  231 


JOHN    RUSKIN 

John  Ruskin  was  born  in  that  famous  year  18 19,  when 
so  many  of  our  great  people  were  born  ;  among  them, 
Queen  Victoria.  His  mother  made  him  ''take  pains" 
with  everything  he  did,  from  his  early  childhood.  She 
forced  him  to  learn  long  chapters  from  the  Bible  by  heart 
as  well  as  to  read  through  every  syllable  of  it  aloud.  It 
was  very  hard  and  trying,  but  Ruskin  said  it  made  him 
"patient,  accurate,  and  resolute."  He  was  a  great 
teacher  and  writer,  and  in  all  he  did  he  showed  the  result 
of  his  early  training.  He  took  twenty  years  to  write 
Modern  Painters^  a  book  in  five  volumes,  which  he  wrote 
because  he  felt  and  knew  he  had  a  message  to  deliver. 
He  wrote  some  of  it  in  Italy,  and  he  says  in  speaking  of 
his  work  afterwards  that  it  was  "Serious,  enthusiastic 
worship,  and  wonder,  and  work :  up  at  six,  homeward  the 
moment  the  sun  went  down. "  He,  like  other  good  teachers, 
had  self-reverence,  for  he  says  :  "  God  is  not  in  the  earth- 
quake, nor  in  the  fire,  but  in  the  'Still  Small  Voice.'" 
He  founded  the  St.  George's  Guild,  and  the  laws  of  the 
guild  are  all  taught  in  the  thoughts  we  take'  in  school. 
Every  boy  should  read  at  least  the  first  part  of  Sesame  and 
Lilies^  and  the  girls  the  second  part. 


232        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 


COURTESY 
PHILEMON   AND   BAUCIS 

A  long-  time  ago  an  old  man  and  his  wife,  Philemon  and 
Baucis,  sat  at  their  cottage  door,  enjoying  the  sunset  and 
the  quiet  cool  evening  before  bedtime. 

They  were  very  poor  and  had  to  work  very  hard  for 
a  living.     But  they  were  contented  and  happy. 

Suddenly  they  heard  the  shouts  of  children  and  barking 
of  dogs,  which  seemed  to  come  nearer  and  nearer. 

They  both  expressed  their  sorrow  at  the  rudeness  of  the 
village  children,  especially  towards  strangers. 

The  noise  came  nearer,  and  two  strangers  came  to  their 
gate.  The  old  couple  greeted  them  kindly,  and,  bidding 
them  welcome,  offered  them  food — apologizing  for  the 
small  quantity. 

The  pitcher  containing  the  milk  seemed  miraculous, 
for  it  supplied  as  much  as  they  required. 

The  old  couple  even  gave  up  their  bed  to  the  strangers, 
out  of  their  kindness  of  heart. 

When  morning  came,  Philemon  went  a  little  way  with 
the  strangers,  and  saw  to  his  surprise  a  great  lake,  where 
the  village  had  been,  and  a  fine  mansion  in  place  of  his 
humble  cottage. 

Philemon  and  Baucis  lived  there,  doing  all  they  could 
to  help  others. 

One  day  they  could  not  be  found  ;  but  in  front  of  the 
mansion  were  two  large  trees,  an  oak  and  a  linden,  with 
bouglis  entwined. 

As  they  waved  to  and  fro  they  seemed  to  say,  ''  I  am 
Baucis."  '*  I  am  Philemon."  "Welcome,  welcome, 
stranger." 

So  ended  the  lives  of  the  kind  old  couple. 

This  is  only  a  fairy  tale,  but  what  lessons  in  "Courtesy  " 
can  be  learnt  from  it ! 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  233 

SOCRATES     ^ 

Socrates,  a  great  Greek  philosopher  and  teacher,  was 
born  near  Athens  in  469  B.C.  Though  ugly  in  appearance, 
he  must  have  had  a  beautiful  nature,  for  he  was  greatly 
beloved  by  the  youth  of  Athens,  whom  he  instructed  in 
the  great  truth  he  taught,  **  Man,  know  thyself."  His 
method  of  teaching,  which  was  by  drawing  from  them, 
by  questions,  facts  about  themselves,  which  they  had  not 
realized  they  knew  before,  set  them  to  find  out  more  about 
themselves.  Amongst  his  pupils  were  Plato,  Alcibiades, 
and  Xenophon,  all  great  men  in  their  own  particular 
sphere.  Socrates  served  as  a  soldier  for  some  time  ;  but 
afterwards  settled  down  in  Athens,  where  he  continued 
teaching  in  the  market-places  and  gardens  all  those  who 
cared  to  join  his  school. 

In  399  B.C.,  he  was  charged  with  not  believing  in  the 
gods  of  Athens,  Apollo,  Jupiter,  etc.,  and  also  with  leading 
the  young  men  to  think  as  he  thought,  was  found  guilty 
and  put  to  death,  much  mourned  by  his  many  pupils  and 
friends. 

Plato  has  written  much  about  Socrates,  and  given 
a  full  description  of  the  hours  preceding  his  death  and 
the  memorable  talks  he  had  with  his  pupils.  People  who 
have  studied  his  teachings  say  that  he  taught  the  same 
truths  as  Shelley,  Wordsworth,  and  Browning;  but  because 
he  was  not  teaching  in  the  same  way,  and  the  very  same 
things  as  the  paid  teachers,  he  was  misunderstood. 


234        CHARACTER  FORMING  IN  SCHOOL 

/ 
THEOCRITE 

Theocrite  was  a  poor  workman.  He  worked  very  hard 
in  a  ding-y  cell,  and  only  earned  a  very  little.  Yet  he 
was  always  happy.  He  sang-  over  his  work  and  praised 
God  the  whole  day.  Near  Easter  Theocrite  thinks  of  the 
Pope,  praising  God  in  the  grand  cathedral  at  Rome,  and 
wishes  he  could  be  there  to  praise  in  that  "great  way." 

God  grants  Theocrite  his  wish.  His  place  in  the  cell  is 
taken  by  the  angel  Gabriel,  and  Theocrite  becomes  the 
Pope.  He  wears  the  grand  robes,  hears  the  beautiful 
organ,  but  thinks  so  much  of  his  position  that  he  forgets 
to  praise  God  as  he  used.  He,  perhaps,  repeats  words  of 
praise  with  the  beautiful  choir,  but  they  are  not  from  his 
heart. 

One  day  he  hears  an  angel  speaking  to  him,  telling  him 
how  disappointed  he  is.  He  was  doing  more  work  for 
God  while  joyfully  singing  over  his  daily  work  in  the 
cell;  but  now  God  "missed  that  little  human  praise." 
The  praise  of  the  organ  and  choir  were  not  involuntary 
and  from  the  heart. 


SIR   WALTER   RALEIGH 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  a  great  courtier  and  traveller, 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  He  was 
trained  as  a  soldier,  and  spent  much  of  his  time  in  France. 
As  a  soldier  he  was  noted  for  his  bravery  and  courteous- 
ness.  He  found  much  favour  at  Queen  Elizabeth's  Court. 
The  influence  of  his  refined  nature  was  very  great,  and  his 
graces  and  accomplishments  pleased  thfe  Queen.  Once 
meeting  the  Queen  near  a  marshy  spot,  and  seeing  her 
hesitating  to  proceed,  Raleigh  instantly  spread  his  rich 
cloak  on  the  ground  for  a  footcloth  for  Her  Majesty — an 
act  of  politeness  which  Elizabeth  never  forgot.  His  polite- 
ness was  innate,  and  a  result  of  his  fine  thoughts  and 
character. 


CHARACTER  STUDIES  235 


G.   F.  WATTS,  R.A. 

G.  F.  Watts,  R.A. ,  was  one  of  the  greatest  artists  of 
our  day.  He  never  painted  just  for  profit,  but  always  with 
a  purpose.  He  took  as  his  motto,  "The  utmost  for  the 
highest,"  and  in  all  his  works  this  thought  influenced  him. 
He  had  self-reverence;  he  listened  to  the  ''Still  Small 
Voice,"  and  it  was  because  he  followed  its  guidance  that 
he  was  able  to  paint  pictures,  not  only  beautiful,  but  with 
a  deep  meaning.  Another  way  of  expressing  self-reverence 
might  be  "The  utmost  for  the  highest."  Some  of  his 
best-known  pictures  are — 

"Hope." 

"  Love  and  Death." 

"The  Slumber  of  the  Agres." 

"  Diana  and  Endymion. 

"Sir  Galahad." 


■^fc." 


He  was  a  very  great  portrait  painter,  and  was  able  in 
his  pictures  to  show  the  character  of  his  sitters.  Many  of 
his  pictures  he  left  as  a  gift  to  the  nation. 


OF  Ti;  .      -r 

UNIVERSITY    1) 


PLYMOUTH 

WILLIAM    BRENDON    AND  SON,    LIMITED 

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JAN  18     1946 


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OCT  29  1935     ' 


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